JCPSLP Vol 23, Issue 1 2021
Their paper is valuable as an introduction to telehealth and includes a long list of published research demonstrating the effectiveness of telehealth within a disability context. From an Australian perspective it is heartening to see some Australian speech-language pathology researchers included in this paper, such as Iacono et al. (2016) and Sutherland, Trembath and Roberts (2018). Camden and Silva walk the reader through key issues in telehealth using an acronym VIRTUAL to conceptualise the various aspects of telehealth. The acronym stands for Viewing, Information, Relationships, Technology, Unique, Access and Legal. The acronym is an effective checklist tool to consider telehealth service options. The paper explains each part of the acronym to allow the reader to consider the range of factors that will ensure intervention success. The authors identify that while technology is key, they also indicate that other factors such as relationships are equally important to the success in delivering intervention via telehealth. I like this acronym and found it a useful way to keep an eye on the multiple aspects of telehealth needed to ensure effective service delivery. Camden and Silva suggest that successful delivery of telehealth requires knowledge of both computer-mediated- communication (CMC), where the role of the computer is to facilitate person–person communication as well as with human–computer–interaction (HCI), where the computer is programmed to interact with the person directly. They provide a helpful table with details of a range of HCI resources that can be used in telehealth for children with a disability. These are interesting but speech pathologists should note that many of these are not speech pathology focused, and it might take Australian clinicians some time to go through the various links to find ones that are appropriate for them. The links point to a range of international resources, which again, may mean some are not suitable for Australian clinicians. Nevertheless, this is an interesting paper which allows the reader to think about telehealth as a future preferred option of service delivery rather than just an enforced option during the pandemic. Leaman, M. C., & Azios, J. H. (2021). Experiences of social distancing during Coronavirus disease 2019 as a catalyst for changing long-term care culture. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology , 30 (1), 318–323. The third paper I’d like to highlight is by Leaman and Adios (2021) and looks at social distancing during COVID-19 and the impact of this on changing long-term care culture. This paper attempts to compare the experiences of social isolation that occurred within society due to COVID-19 to the social isolation that exists for people who need long-term care. The argument is that we all experienced a kind of aloneness that we were previously unaware of and that this collective understanding can be used to influence the services provided within long-term care facilities in the future. The paper further argues that speech-language pathologists are ideally placed to influence this outcome. Leaman and Adios’ (2021) paper is a thought-provoking read which connects aspects of learning theory with personal experience as a catalyst for change. The authors suggest that this very powerful experiential learning for the majority of people in the world has potential to transform the future. They discuss models of adult learning and suggest that experiential and transformative learning has potential to shift one’s worldview and they outline a plan for
SLPs and how they might harness that learning to create real and meaningful change. There is no data to present from this paper but a wealth of ideas that are truly worthy of reading if this topic interests you; and perhaps the key message in this paper is that it should interest you as we have all lived through this pandemic and experienced social isolation, and that in itself should be motivating. Rosenbaum, P. L., Silva, M., & Camden, C. (2020). Let’s not go back to “normal”! Lessons from COVID-19 for professionals working in childhood disability. Disability and Rehabilitation , Ahead of print, 1–7. https:// doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1862925 The final paper I would like to highlight is by Rosenbaum, Silva, and Camden (2020), who reflect on COVID-19 and conclude that we should not go back to “normal”. This paper follows a presentation given by the authors during a recent eHealth conference (https://the-ehealth-summit-for- therapists.heysummit.com). It is a personal reflective piece that describes the perspectives of the authors and a range of stakeholders in disability services. The authors present a range of definitions and concepts that define current ways of working including a shift from “fixing” children with a disability towards a focus on function and participation. They link this to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework (WHO, 2001) and six key “F-Words” that researchers from the CanChild organisation in Canada believe should be the focus in childhood disability: Function, Family, Fitness, Fun, Friends and Future (Rosenbaum & Gorter, 2012; CanChild, https://www.canchild.ca/en/research-in-practice/ f-words-in-childhood-disability). They then identify successes in service delivery during the past 12 months, including telehealth. They identify telehealth challenges such as added responsibilities for families, pressure on parents to “get it right”, and a plethora of issues with technology. But they also identify a range of positives including periods of lockdown being a slow-down for families, families feeling empowered, increased family understanding of their child, and increased competence in their own skills when interacting with their child. Rosenbaum et al. (2020), end by asking whether we should ever go back to “normal”, which they emphatically answer with NO! Rosembaum et al.’s (2020) paper is highly relevant for us all—and aligns with Speech Pathology Australia’s vision for 2030, outlined in the Speech Pathology Australia 2030 Futures Report (https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org. au/SPAweb/What_s_On/SP2030/Speech_Pathology_2030. aspx ). For those of you who attended workshops about the 2030 paper (Speech Pathology Australia, 2016), I’m sure you were wondering what the world would be like in 2030. For those who didn’t attend, there were some mind-bending images and predictions about what future SLP services would look like. COVID-19 has indeed quickened this process of change and adaptation towards the profession’s 2030 aspirations and timeline. We all now have the unique opportunity to reflect on how our services have adapted during 2020 and make conscious choices about whether to continue in this new normal or revert back to our pre-COVID ways. References Hair, A., Monroe, P., Ahmed, B., Ballard, K. J., & Gutierrez- Osuna, R. (2018). Apraxia World: A speech therapy game for children with speech sound disorders. In Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Interaction Design and
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JCPSLP Volume 23, Number 1 2021
Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology
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