Virtual care a win-win

Twenty-one graduating students from the Communicative Disorders Assistant program (CDA) took a unique approach to their final clinical requirements this summer, offering virtual care to their clients through Webex appointments, rather than in-person therapy.

The students were able to meet their learning outcomes while delivering high-quality speech and language therapy to their clients between the ages of three and 74.

Mary Lapp is one of the students who offered direct intervention to clients through the WebEx platform with great success. She took the time to answer our questions about her experience.

Why did you decide to take the Communicative Disorders Assistant graduate certificate program?

I graduated last year with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Language Sciences from Brock University. I volunteered during my four years at Brock with adults who have a communication disorder resulting from a stroke or other brain injury. Hearing their stories from the past is the reason I want to be a Communicative Disorders Assistant.

I was motivated to pursue a career in a field where I could connect with people and help them find their voice, even if it meant communicating non-verbally (e.g., writing, gestures, using a speech-generated device). Communication is a very big part of a person’s identity, and it is very frustrating when you have so much to contribute to a conversation but no WAY to get the words out. I want to be the person to help them find a way. I want to be the person to see a face light up when they are finally able to get their message out.

What type of therapy did you provide to your clients?

In the fall semester, I worked face to face at the Harmonize for Speech, Hearing and Language clinic at Georgian College with a school-aged client and an adult. A session would last 30 minutes and we worked on speech and language goals specific to each client. We also had the opportunity to conduct hearing assessments in the fall, without interpretation, using state-of-the-art equipment in the clinic.

In the winter semester, I completed a student placement at a rehabilitation centre in St. Catharines, Ontario. I worked with adults in an acute setting. I would plan, prepare, and implement therapy and document each patient’s progress.

In the summer semester (2020), I had the opportunity to work with a school-aged child using a different type of therapy – Virtual Care using a platform called WebEx. The therapy did not change. A session still lasted 30 minutes and we worked on all the same goals as we would face to face. The only difference was the method of delivery. Virtual Care is used in many different heath-related fields, and it can be conducted over the phone (audio only), or through an online platform (video and audio).

As a student, how did you benefit by delivering therapy remotely?

Virtual care was an adjustment, but a necessary one. There were challenges, but the upside is that it allowed us to continue to offer our services to clients while fine-tuning our own clinical skills. Below are some of the benefits of virtual care:

• Clients did not have to wait to start or continue their therapy.
• We are the first CDA class to receive this training and experience. Job hunting can be challenging for new graduates, but this experience will offer our class an advantage. Many institutions will still be running online, so any CDA student graduating in 2020 will be an asset because we already have the necessary training to deliver therapy remotely.
• This experience is something that I can add to my resume. I have demonstrated my ability to be flexible and adapt to new situations with little preparation.

What skills did you gain that you may not have by providing therapy in person?

Skills that I gained from virtual care that I may not have by providing therapy in person:

• Troubleshooting technology: As we all are aware, technological difficulties can happen to anyone. I have demonstrated my ability to problem solve remotely through this experience. Weather can affect the video connection, as well as pop-ups, other electronic devices that are on in the house, etc.
• Teaching another person how to navigate an online platform
• Creating materials online and implementing them into a therapy session: It is easy to choose a board game and an activity for a client when you are providing therapy in person, but virtual care requires you to keep therapy fun and engaging through a computer screen

Tell us about a client that responded really well to virtual therapy.

I only had the opportunity to work with one school-aged client during my experience as a CDA student at Georgian. However, my client responded very well to virtual care and she also showed improvement in her speech. We worked on specific speech sound goals and she was very receptive to the new mode of delivery. My client was able to stay engaged during a session despite any technological difficulties we had. I can imagine that this mode of delivery might be more challenging for younger clients who might have a harder time staying engaged, are easily distracted, or do not know how to navigate a computer, but she did well.