Using physical objects with young children in ‘face-to-face’ and telehealth speech and language therapy

Abstract

When delivering play-based therapy via telehealth, our study demonstrates how practitioners adapt the intervention to suit the particular medium of its delivery. Implications for Rehabilitation Telehealth enhances equitable access for those who cannot physically access rehabilitation services. Telehealth modalities can create practical challenges, however, when delivering interventions such as play-based therapy. Practitioners should intentionally adapt telehealth interventions to suit the particular telehealth modality they are using.

Health Care Professionals’ and Patients’ Management of the Interactional Practices in Telemedicine Videoconferencing: A Conversation Analytic and Discursive Systematic Review

“…Identical to previous extracts considered with directional feedback, this example from Ekberg et al (2019) demonstrates how individuals within the interaction clarify and create a joint frame of attention with ongoing activities. Utterances such as “he’s actually pointing to the ball” (Extract 17, line 14) allow individuals to share information around ongoing activities and create a joint frame of attention.…”

“…The category of providing directional feedback was documented in four articles (Ekberg et al, 2019; Pappas et al, 2019; Pappas & Seale, 2010; Sävenstedt et al, 2005). Although positioning utterances allow for managing the camera and body in achieving medical tasks, directional feedback allows health care professionals to exchange relevant information regarding the focus of attention during the achievement of medical tasks.…”

“…Directional feedback was found to be particularly prominent within one article concerning the use of physical objects in telehealth speech and language therapy with children (Ekberg et al, 2019). The reasoning for this may be due to telehealth videoconferencing not providing a shared manipulable space (Ekberg et al, 2019), with speech language therapists then relying on other interactional devices to promote young clients’ (aged 3–6) meaningful engagement with objects.…”

Video Consultations Between Patients and Clinicians in Diabetes, Cancer, and Heart Failure Services: Linguistic Ethnographic Study of Video-Mediated Interaction (Preprint)

“…Published research on video outpatient consultations has been summarized in several recent reviews [7][8][9][10]. These show great potential for video consultations in terms of acceptability, safety, and effectiveness in patients considered clinically eligible across a range of conditions, such as diabetes [11][12][13][14][15], ophthalmology [16], cancer [17,18], chronic kidney disease [19], spinal cord injury [6,20,21], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [22,23], mental health conditions [24,25], Down syndrome [26], cerebral palsy [27], chronic pain [18,28,29], therapies (eg, speech and language therapy [30][31][32]), support after premature birth [33], support of patients in care homes [34], and plastic surgery [35].…”

“…Ekberg et al [30,43] looked at the use of virtual media to support cognitive behavioral therapy and speech and language therapy, finding that in both cases, practitioners were able to adapt consultations and communication accordingly. In a series of studies on video-mediated vascular and cardiology consultations, Pappas et al [44][45][46] explored video consultations in which the patient, supported by a general practitioner (GP) or nurse, consulted remotely with a specialist from their GP practice.…”