Speech and language therapy in pandemic distance learning

Abstract

The aim of the study was to diagnose, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Polish speech, and language therapists on the topic of online therapy. The results were collected from 191 speech therapists on several key topics: speech therapy activity, tools used, interest in thematic training, contact with multilingualism of children and place and conditions of working remotely. The author used questionnaires as well as conducting interviews to collect the data. The analyses show that most of those interviewed used online therapy during the pandemic. Most of them were under 30 years of age and used Messenger. The respondents active online were mostly employed in state education. The respondents did not report much supervision of the therapy. Most would be happy to have training in the use of new technologies for distance work. There has been little contact with multilingual children in online speech and language therapy. Most respondents are reluctant to continue online therapy after the pandemic. Further research should be undertaken to diagnose these new working realities and the attitudes of speech and language therapists to these changes.