Speech-language Telepractice Services During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Perspectives from Parents in Malaysia

Abstract

This study explores Malaysian parents' perspectives on speech-language pathology (SLP) telepractice services during the COVID-19 lockdown. SLP services for families living in rural areas of Malaysia can be challenging, due to travel issues associated with distance, transportation costs, scheduling conflicts, and for patients with restricted physical mobility. To investigate the efficacy of SLP services in Malaysia during the COVID-19 lockdown, 70 parents' preferences and perspectives were explored via a survey of demographics, service engagement, and views on telepractice. During lockdown, 48.6% of children received in-person speech-language services, while 38.6% received telepractice or combined services. Of those receiving services, 91.2% reported benefits, but 70.4% disagreed that telepractice could replace in-person sessions. Parents reported children's attention span and rapport-building challenges with telepractice. Attitudes about telepractice varied: 14.3% positive, 60% negative, 25.7% neutral. Open-ended responses revealed that some held a preference for in-person services due to attention, communication, and technological barriers. The telepractice benefits noted were parental involvement and convenience. The findings suggest a shift toward remote therapy during the COVID-19 lockdown, with positive parental perceptions. However, doubts remain about the ability of telepractice to fully replace in-person sessions, warranting further research on therapy effectiveness and limitations.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Parents; Speech-language services; Telepractice.

Figure 1

Reasons for Stopping the Speech and Language Therapy Sessions (n=36) Note. Others were: no improvement from the speech and language therapy sessions (n=1, 2.8%), low immunity of the child (n=1, 2.8%) or not needed for child’s age (n=1, 2.8%).