The rise of technological advancements has increased in the medical field which allowed many health professions to provide therapy sessions online (teletherapy). Coronavirus impacted the medical fields in the nation closing the majority of facilities. For example, the majority of speech-language pathologists were affected and transitioned their therapy sessions to fully online. This is, referred to as teletherapy or telepractice. As a result of switching to a virtual format, clients were not able to receive tactile cues or in-person therapy. This raises the question of the efficacy of teletherapy and its effectiveness in improving articulation in clients with speech disorders. The ability to communicate and to be understood is very important in everyday living. Finding the treatment method that works best for children struggling with articulation disorders and/or speech difficulties would succeed in remediating the errors in a shorter time span. Therefore, it is important to research which treatment method face-to-face or teletherapy works best for children with speech sound disorders. A mixed-method review was conducted by collecting secondary data using three online surveys and findings from online articles and websites. Two certified speech-language pathologists, three parents/guardians, and twenty-one speech-language pathologists who treat clients’ different populations and specialties answered online surveys based on their experience with teletherapy and in-person speech therapy.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Debra Forman

Department of Clinical Health Sciences