An Adapted Assessment Model for Emergent Literacy Conducted via Telepractice

Children with complex communication needs (CCN) exhibit multiple needs in a variety of domains, including language, literacy, and speech. Children with CCN often require augmentative/alternative communication (AAC), a mode of communication designed to compensate for the communication and related disability patterns of individuals with CCN (Light, Beukelman, & Reichle, 2003). Given the diverse needs of this population, service provision presents challenges to teachers and therapists alike. Telepractice service provision offers solutions to guide service delivery for children with CCN, who may be located in remote settings with limited access to AAC specialists. The tele-AAC working group of the International Society on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) 2012 Research Symposium highlighted a need for increased information on telepractice service delivery for children with CCN in the area of literacy. To date, evidence-based practices for assessment of literacy skills in children with CCN are limited. In addition, literacy assessment for children with CCN via telepractice presents challenges requiring adaptation for telepractice service delivery. This paper summarizes existing literature examining literacy assessment and intervention, and applies these principles to development and implementation of adapted literacy assessment methods conducted via telepractice for a child with CCN.

Telepractice in University Au.D. Programs: Survey of Program Directors

Permanent hearing loss is a global health care burden; 360 million people, including 32 million (9%) children, have disabling hearing loss (Chadha & Stevens, 2013, p. 2). About 80 percent of these people live in developing nations without access to hearing care services. The American Academy of Audiology (AAA, 2014) has reported “ongoing efforts to explore and enhance the use of telepractice…to expand the availability and accessibility of hearing and balance care” to individuals across the world. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2014c) has also endorsed advances in telepractice for the world's millions with hearing loss and related disorders, and encouraged institutional involvement as a future direction for audiology training. In the first publishing of this nature, this report shares survey responses from 28 of the nation's 74 graduate programs about their inclusion of telepractice in the Clinical Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) curriculum. Results suggest a slow response from university programs and challenges in addressing telepractice in current course and clinical offerings. Results also support a direction of change to include telepractice in future Au.D. curricula.

SIG 18 Perspectives Vol. 5, No. 2, September 2015

Download the CE Questions PDF from the toolbar, above. Use the questions to guide your Perspectives reading. When you're ready, purchase the activity from the ASHA Store and follow the instructions to take the exam in ASHA's Learning Center. Available until July 5, 2018.

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention by Telepractice

Early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) refers to a system of care to ensure that infants who are deaf or hard of hearing receive early diagnosis and intervention. Components of this system include newborn hearing screening (NBS), follow-up diagnostic audiological evaluation (DAE), medical/otological assessment and treatment, audiological habilitation such as hearing aid fitting, and enrollment in early intervention services (EI). A significant barrier to achieving prompt diagnosis of and EI for every baby is lack of access to audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with specific expertise in diagnosis, (re)habilitation, and intervention for infants who are deaf or hard of hearing. To improve access to services, clinicians are exploring the use of telepractice for specific components of the EHDI system. At Children's Hospital Colorado, we developed telepractice services that include two components of EHDI, DAE, and speech-language EI services. We discuss the development, implementation, outcomes, and advantages and disadvantages of telepractice for these components of an EHDI system.

The Federally Funded Telehealth Resource Centers

Telehealth is progressively being considered as a possible approach for delivering more efficient healthcare and addressing access issues. Since the establishment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), new reform-based programs and initiatives often focus around the three goals of the “Triple Aim”: (a) improving population health, (b) enhancing the patient care experience, and (c) reducing per capita costs. As telehealth adoption and utilization within health systems is expected to increase, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has shown initiative by investing in programs that help facilitate the growth of telehealth by providing non-partisan, unbiased information and technical assistance. One such program is the telehealth resource centers (TRCs). TRCs are funded to increase the use, efficiency, and raise awareness about telehealth through education and training. This article provides an overview of the services offered by twelve regional TRCs, as well as the National Telehealth Technology Assessment Center (TTAC) and the National Telehealth Policy Resource Center (NTRC-P). It also provides suggestions about what more can be done by the federal government to maximize telehealth's potential to address the needs of a strapped health system.

SIG 18 Perspectives Vol. 5, No. 1, March 2015

Download the CE Questions PDF from the toolbar, above. Use the questions to guide your Perspectives reading. When you're ready, purchase the activity from the ASHA Store and follow the instructions to take the exam in ASHA's Learning Center. Available until December 17, 2017.

Telesupervision and ASHA's Tasks of Supervision

High quality clinical supervision is important for both student education and continued professional growth within the field of speech-language pathology. Face-to-face supervision is the traditional mode of supervision; however, with advances in technology, telesupervision or e-supervision, has been used to support graduate student clinicians and clinical fellows. This article provides an overview of clinical supervision with a focus on telesupervision and ASHA's thirteen tasks of supervision. The authors discuss literature from allied health professions in relation to the thirteen tasks of supervision to support a hybrid model of supervision.