No abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) maintained clinical services via teletherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic closures. School-based SLPs in the United States were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Questions relevant to this study gathered information regarding a) provision of teletherapy following COVID-19 school closures, b) the types of technologies used to deliver teletherapy and supports offered from school districts, and c) challenges to providing consistent therapy. Descriptive results indicate that over 60% of responding SLPs with complete data (n ¼ 1109) provided teletherapy to all or some students on their caseloads. A variety of virtual methods were used, but Zoom and Google hangouts were the most commonly used technologies. Although some SLPs received training to deliver teletherapy (16%), many received no support from their district to maintain service provision (25%). The most frequently noted barriers to providing therapy included poor attendance of online therapy sessions and parenting their own children simultaneously. School-based SLPs were largely successful in maintaining speech-language therapy services to children on their caseloads. Information regarding the types of technologies used and common challenges can inform future teletherapy training for SLPs should future school closures occur.More than 1 million children in the United States receive school-based speech and/or language services (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2020). These services are critical for supporting children's educational attainment, and for many, it may be the only speech and language support they receive. In the absence of school-based supports, children with speech and language difficulties are at heightened risk for long-term delays in not only their speech and language development, but reading

These results provide further evidence regarding the heterogeneity of children with language impairment served in the public schools, indicating that differences may be best conceptualized along a continuum of severity.