Considering expanding your speech therapy private practice?
Reach more clients with online therapy options.
Guest post by Adrienne Wallace, MBA, MS, CCC-SLP, owner of Online Speech Services – https://www.onlinespeechsite.com/
For my first full-time job as a speech-language pathologist, I was hired as the only SLP for a charter school in rural Pennsylvania. This school had a blended approach to learning, which meant that students only came into the school building 2-3 days a week. On the other days, students either worked from home or in the community. During that time, teachers (and the only SLP) went to meet with students wherever they were, whether at home, a local library, or even a cafe. Because this was rural Pennsylvania and there weren’t many SLPs in the area, I was also seeing students at a preschool, a private school, and a public elementary school in three different towns. That’s when I had an “aha” moment! I felt like I should be making better use of
my time instead of spending half of the day in the car. So I got my supervisor’s permission to try telepractice with a few of my charter school students instead of traveling to their homes. It was then that I realized some of the many benefits of telepractice, including:
No travel time
Reduced costs
More scheduling flexibility
More time dedicated to therapy
More engaging technology
That was over 10 years ago, and I’ve been in love with telepractice ever since! Last year I opened my private practice, where I work with clients from home via telepractice.
According to a 2016 Telepractice Survey by ASHA’s SIG 18, over 55% of SLPs in telepractice were self-employed. Over 50% of them reported providing services to clients in schools and in their homes. Hospitals, rehab centers, and VAs were also among the long list of facilities where clients were located. If you’re commuting to clients now, how much more time would you have in your day if you could just sit at your desk and let your clients come to you? How many more clients could you see with that extra time? Or maybe you could spend more time at home with your family. If you’re having difficulty finding clients in your local area, instead of being limited to those who live in a 30-mile radius, you could serve clients across the entire state. This is especially helpful for those living in rural areas. If you want to expand your reach even further, you could get licensed in other states or even other countries. The possibilities are endless!
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of speech-language pathology is expected to have 27% job growth from 2018-2028. This means that the need and opportunity are there waiting for you. If you’re a private practice owner and you want to be more efficient with your time or just serve more people, consider adding telepractice to your practice. If you need help getting started, sign up for my Ultimate Telepractice Training for Beginners. I’ve created this online course for SLPs in private practice who want to add telepractice to their service offerings.
Click here for exclusive training to learn how to add telepractice to your speech therapy private practice. Just looking for more resources? We have those too.
