If you are anything like me, pre-Covid, you never saw yourself doing teletherapy. I mean really, how the heck does that work for anyone? No thank you! Then a global pandemic rocked our world, and here we are.
Information Overload…
For me, March & April are a blur. The amount of information I needed to take in, over a short period of time, was exhausting! Between setting up teletherapy sessions, learning which platform to use… then changing the platform… Then figuring out what materials to use, and realizing that I left all that at the office, and… You get the idea, and probably even lived it yourself!
In case you are wondering, the platform I ended up using is Zoom. It has all the features I need, and with the ability to share your screen, your options for digital materials is as vast as the internet!
Through all that, I was amazed at how beautifully our SLP community came together. Those already experienced with teletherapy offered up free help via Facebook groups and free online seminars. It was truly impressive, and I am still in awe of how it all came together.
Now…
So what do I think about teletherapy, 5 months later? I LOVE it! Don’t get me wrong, I miss seeing my kiddos in person, and I miss getting those real life hugs and high fives. However, telethearpy has been 1000x better than I ever thought it would be. Having some high risk family members has made the thought of in-person therapy a little scary, and working from home has been a HUGE blessing. (Thanks to my amazing boss for allowing me to continue to do that!)
Virtual therapy may not be ideal for every child or every family, but it works for a good majority of them. It may even be a better format for some.
Knowing some of you may be jumping into this virtual, teletherapy world as school reves up again, I wanted to share some things I have learned along this journey. So if you are asking yourself, “how am I going to do this,” or “what am I going to use for materials,” hopefully, you will find some direction here.
The Tips:
My #1 recommendation is to learn about and use virtual backgrounds or green screens. (Well, that’s what they are called on Zoom). This will be a life saver for you, I promise, and they are also super easy to use. This blog post won’t go into detail about how to use them, but I do have some recommendations for resources to help you learn how to use them.
Join Facebook Groups! Yes, Facebook! Instagram has it’s perks, but if you have a lot of questions, then FB SLP/Therapy groups are where you need to be. Here are just a few of my favorite groups for teletherapy:
Teletherapy Materials for Speech Language Pathologist
Early Intervention Telepractice
People/Websites to Follow:
These are three of the people that really stepped up and brought their wealth of knowledge to the masses back in March. They have been doing this virtual thing for years, and they have it down, and they are teletherapy pros! I’ve linked their websites, but they also have IG Pages and TpT & Boom Stores.
Materials:
I always send my new families teletherapy tip sheets, like this, to help them prep for our first online session. 
YouTube: When I’m looking for a story, I always check YouTube first. I almost always find a “read a loud” version of the story I am looking for. So it’s a great option for free online books. Another tip, I always mute the reader, so I can read to the child at the pace we need.
This is one of my favorites for a sound loaded story for /r/:
Speaking of YouTube… It’s also great for songs, especially for the EI Crowd. Paula Shukla is one of my favorites, and this one is always a hit. Shake and Move
Materials for Screenings:
For screening articualtion or language for PK kiddos, I love these screeners from Kristine Lamb’s TpT store “Live Love Speech” TpT. Her PDFs work great in a shared screen, and you get a lot of information from them. I have been using them for my on going kids, just to check in and see how they are doing, or for those “Artic only” kids that we get, but I just like to make sure I am not missing any langauge deficits.
Articulation Screener Language Screener
Digital Markets:
If you don’t have one already, set up an account with Boom Learning (sm) AND Teachers Pay Teachers. You will find a multitude of materials to use for your virtual therapy. You can get a free account at both sites, and you can also find free products on both sites. Like these: 
While you are there, I’d love for you to follow my stores.
Find My Words Boom Learning (sm) Store
Other SLPs to Follow:
For phonological, articualtion and apraxia (CAS) materials, these are my go to people! I’ve linked their IG pages, but they all have Websites, as well as Boom and TpT Stores. I have learned so much from Amy, Jenny and Rebecca over the last few months. They are all newer to teletherapy, but their knowledge of speech sound disorders is amazing!
Amy Graham: Graham Speech Therapy
Jenny Bjorem: Bjorem Speech
Rebecca Reinking: Adventures in Speech Pathology
For Language, EI, and ASD, you NEED to follow the fabulous Cari Ebert at
Cari Ebert Seminars. I have seen Cari in person several times over the years, and her information is always great.
So now you have a few go to sites to either get started with teletherapy or gain more ideas. Drop me a comment about your big telethearpy finds/go to items, or leave me a question.
