Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan 18;31(1):303-321.
doi: 10.1044/2021_AJSLP-21-00036. Epub 2021 Dec 14.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Telepractice During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists

Elizabeth E Biggs  1 , Michelle C S Therrien  2 , Sarah N Douglas  3 , Melinda R Snodgrass  4
Affiliations

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Telepractice During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists

Elizabeth E Biggs et al. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. .

Abstract

Purpose: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to sudden, widespread use of telepractice, including providing services to children who use aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This exploratory study examined speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) experiences using telepractice to provide services to children and youth aged 3-21 years who used aided AAC during the earlier months of the pandemic (May-June 2020).

Method: Three hundred thirty-one SLPs responded to an online survey. Closed- and open-ended survey items were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and mixed at the point of interpretation to understand the experiences of SLPs related to the use of telepractice with children who use aided AAC, including how they perceived effectiveness.

Results: Most SLPs were using telepractice to provide both direct and consultation/coaching services to children who used aided AAC. There was fairly wide variation in perceptions of effectiveness of both types of services, but SLPs were more likely to rate consultation/coaching services as being more effective than direct services. SLPs identified factors impacting effectiveness across five dimensions: broader factors, practice-based factors (i.e., technology, the type of services), the child, parents and family members, and professionals. School-based SLPs perceived telepractice as being less effective than non-school-based SLPs.

Conclusions: The use of telepractice during the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded quite differently for different SLPs and the children who use aided AAC that they serve. Although AAC telepractice offers promise for the future, particularly for partnering with families, further research is needed to know how to overcome challenges experienced by SLPs.

Supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.17139434.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Speech-language pathologist ratings about the effectiveness of direct and consultation/coaching services through telepractice for students who use aided augmentative and alternative communication.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Factors impacting the perceived effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) telepractice for children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. SLP = speech-language pathologist.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Percentage of speech-language pathologists (SLPs; n = 331) who rated technologies and tools as being used and useful for augmentative and alternative communication telepractice.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Akemoglu, Y. , Muharib, R. , & Meadan, H. (2020). A systematic and quality review of parent-implemented language and communication interventions conducted via telepractice. Journal of Behavioral Education, 29, 282–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-019-09356-3
    1. Allen, I. E. , & Seaman, C. A. (2007). Likert scales and data analysis. Quality Progress, 40(7), 64–65.
    1. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2020). Telepractice services and coronavirus/COVID-19. https://www.asha.org/Practice/Telepractice-Services-and-Coronavirus/
    1. Anderson, K. , Boisvert, M. K. , Doneski-Nicol, J. , Gutmann, M. L. , Hall, N. C. , Morelock, C. , & Cohn, E. R. (2012). Tele-AAC resolution. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 4(2), 79. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2012.6106 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beukelman, D. R. , & Light, J. C. (2020). Augmentative and alternative communication: Supporting children and adults with complex communication needs. Brookes.

Publication types