We are excited to offer Telehealth services to provide families with a way to access therapy services within the child’s natural environment. Our Telehealth services allow families and their child to meet with one of our therapists for a therapy session via video chat.
Telehealth is a great opportunity for parents to take a more active role in their child’s therapy session and partner with their therapist to develop solutions that will help their child learn new skills within the home environment. Therapists and parents then work together as a team to implement interventions to best help the child achieve their therapy goals.
Telehealth can be a great alternative to traditional therapy settings for medically fragile populations, families with transportation limitations, families residing in remote locations, or anyone looking for convenient access to care.
FAQs
1. How do I schedule a telehealth session or evaluation?
Simply call our office at (703) 879-2479 to speak with our administrative staff who can assist you in scheduling an appointment. Once the appointment is scheduled, you will receive an email with our online registration forms and your therapist will email you a link for the telehealth session.
2. How long will my telehealth session last?
The length of your session will depend on the type of service you’re receiving and what your child can tolerate. In general, our telehealth sessions last between 35 – 50 minutes.
3. How should I prepare my child for their telehealth session?
Your child will have a more successful session if their physical needs are met first. We encourage you to make sure that your child is fed, well rested, and has used the bathroom prior to the start of each session, as this will prevent a loss of time during the visit. If your session is scheduled during your child’s nap time you may want to consider rescheduling for another time.
4. What materials do I need to have prepared for my telehealth session?
During the initial session, your therapist will discuss what materials to have on hand for future sessions. These will be common household items and it will not be necessary for you to go out and purchase additional items unless you choose to do so.
5. Where should my child and I be located for the session?
This will depend on your child’s therapy needs and goals developed during the initial evaluation. Because sessions are conducted via video chat the location in your home or outside the home needs to be able to get an internet connection on a compatible device such as a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or cell phone. Your therapist will advise you on how to set up your environment for success.
6. Can siblings be present during the telehealth session?
This will be a discussion you’ll have with your therapist and will be contingent on a variety of factors. Siblings can be a wonderful asset in motivating the child receiving services and they are a natural part of a child’s daily routine so including them, in many cases, would be appropriate. However, for some children this may be too great of a distraction and your therapist may recommend asking siblings to be in another room for the duration of the session.
7. Can I be working on something else while my therapist works with my child?
Due to the nature of telehealth services, a parent or other close caregiver needs to be present and fully active throughout the session. Telehealth sessions rely heavily on a partnership between the parent and the therapist. If your session is scheduled for a time you need to be working and/or attending to other activities, please call the office to reschedule for a better time. Your therapist will discuss what level of parent involvement will be required during the initial telehealth session.
8. Does my insurance cover Telehealth?
More and more insurance companies are covering telehealth services although coverage can vary by plan. To determine if your insurance plan covers telehealth services call the member services number on the back of your insurance card and ask the following questions.
- Does my insurance cover habilitative and rehabilitative telehealth for OT, PT, Speech?
- Are there any limitations or restrictions to my telehealth coverage?
- Is there a co-pay, co-insurance or deductible?
- Is there a visit limit?
- Is an authorization required?
9. What if my child has difficulty attending or cooperating with this form of therapy?
If your child has difficulty tolerating therapy via the telehealth platform for whatever reason, your therapist will adjust the approach and will likely incorporate more of a coaching model. In this case, you and your therapist will collaborate and problem solve together ideas to overcome obstacles to your child making progress. Your therapist will also model techniques and strategies for you to try on your child to help elicit better engagement. If the child cannot tolerate being present for the entire duration of the session, you and your therapist will discuss shortening future sessions or using an alternative method of therapy.
10. What do I do if I encounter technical difficulties during the scheduled session time?
Please check to make sure the device you’re using complies with the following requirements:
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Devices
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If the device your’e using follows the above requirements most technical difficulties can be easily resolved by moving closer to your router if using Wifi, switching to a different web browser or closing out of the telehealth platform and re-clicking the session link within your email. If the situation cannot be resolved quickly, you can reschedule your appointment for another time.
To learn more please contact our office.
