JCPSLP vol 14 no 3 2012

Three technology solutions for telepractice service delivery 1. Videoconferencing using ISDN The first It Takes Two to Talk group made use of videoconferencing facilities with an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) connection. Individual and group sessions were held at local videoconferencing studios. For the group sessions a virtual bridge, which is a private network that is created to connect specific videoconferencing sites, was used to connect the four families and the presenter. In order to share PowerPoint slides and videos with the families during the group sessions the presenter used a document camera. The document camera connects simultaneously to the videoconferencing equipment and a computer. It allows information presented on the computer to be viewed by the group participants via the television monitor at their conference site. A key component of the It Takes Two to Talk program involves individual sessions, where the parent is filmed interacting with their child. This video is then played back to the parent during the session to analyse the interactions. It was still possible to provide immediate feedback in the individual session by recording the session occurring at the parent’s site, and then replaying it to the parent for discussion. In this method, the individual session was captured using a VHS recorder. At the end of the course parents were asked to complete a questionnaire about their experience. Parents were satisfied with the technology used and thought that it provided very high-quality audio and video. Parents also reported how much they enjoyed the group sessions and

connecting with other families over videoconference. Some parents commented that it was difficult for them to attend sessions at a local studio and would have preferred a home-based service. They reported that it took some time to feel confident using specific strategies for telepractice communication, for example, introducing themselves to engage the voice activated picture display, where the person talking is the person seen by all participants, and muting microphones to maintain the picture on the speaker rather than have the picture display changed by background noises. 2. Videoconferencing using web-based software Alterations to the telepractice model were made based on parent feedback from the videoconferencing method described above. This second parent group used web- based conferencing. Many conferencing programs are available, and for this group Sightspeed Business (2004– 2009) was chosen. Sightspeed Business provided the capacity to connect multiple sites and share files and computer desktops while connected. As the conferencing program was web-based, all families could participate at home, provided they had access to a computer and adequate upload/download speed. In this It Takes Two to Talk group four families enrolled at RIDBC Teleschool combined with four metropolitan families. The metropolitan families attended group sessions at the RIDBC campus in Sydney. The remote families connected to the group using Sightspeed Business. By sharing the presenter’s desktop, PowerPoint slides and video clips could be viewed simultaneously by all participants.

Delivering the It Takes Two to Talk program by telepractice

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JCPSLP Volume 14, Number 3 2012

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