Adapting educational speech-language pathology services during a pandemic
Reflections of parent engagement in intervention during a two-year pilot project
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.22951Keywords:
autism spectrum disorder, COVID-19 pandemic, language delay, parent training, social communication, telepracticeAbstract
Background: Hanen Programs® have a research-based history of helping parents learn to support the oral language, social communication, and literacy development of their young children. Programs are delivered by Hanen-certified speech-language pathologists, usually in preschool speech and language centers. The global COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020 required school-based clinicians to adjust their professional practices to meet the needs of students during disruptive school years.
Method: This clinical case study describes the two-year project launched to incorporate Hanen Programs® through telepractice, and discusses the feasibility of offering them as part of a continuum of services at the Toronto District School Board in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Results: Favorable responses from stakeholders led to the expansion of the project. Attrition rate and staff allocation were found to be problematic.
Discussion/conclusion: Reasons for the high attrition rate were explored, and a response plan was developed. Additional training for interested staff members was scheduled. Ongoing monitoring is needed to determine the long-term feasibility of offering Hanen Programs® in a school board setting.
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