Many S-LPs are challenged to provide dysphagia management via telepractice during the COVID-19 pandemic.  A new Communiqué article about this topic – Dysphagia Assessment and Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned from the Transition to Telepractice by SAC members Gabrielle Carrier, Veronica Rodriguez and Dr. Rosemary Martino – is now available.

Related international resources include:

• Telehealth Recommendations and Resources for Dysphagia Management during COVID-19. This resource provides practical guidance for clinicians who are considering adopting telehealth solutions for dysphagia management.
• Queensland Health eLearning Program: Telepractice Dysphagia Assessment Service. This program provides information for managers and clinicians interested in establishing and conducting adult clinical swallowing evaluations via telepractice.

• Dysphagia and Telepractice During COVID-19 and Beyond Webinar (ASHA Health Care Services – Speech-Language Pathology)

S-LPs in Canada may need to modify international approaches to telepractice to ensure compliance with applicable Canadian federal and/or provincial legislation and regulatory requirements.

SAC has compiled speech-language pathology focused resources to assist you in providing accessible telepractice services:

• Telepractice Checklist for Speech-Language Pathology Services includes step-by-step considerations—from preparation to implementation. Please note that the checklist was adapted with permission from an ASHA resource and therefore is only available in English.
• Dysphagia management via Telepractice (updated May 15) provides resources to assist S-LPs providing dysphagia management via telepractice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Guidance for Speech-Language Pathology Telepractice Placements to help S-LPs navigate telesupervision during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Teletherapy S-LPs in Canada is a private Facebook discussion group with nearly 500 Canadian S-LP members sharing tips and information about teletherapy practice.
• SpeechBITE – open access speech-language pathology telepractice research articles
• SAC Webcast: Supervising Telepractice Placements

Additional Resources

• Adult Language (Aphasia)
  • Conversations between people with aphasia and speech pathology students via telepractice: A Phase II feasibility study
  • Self-managed, computerised speech and language therapy for patients with chronic aphasia post-stroke compared with usual care or attention control (Big CACTUS): a multicentre, single-blinded, randomised controlled trial
  • Telepractice for Adult Speech-Language Pathology Services: A Systematic Review
  • Telerehabilitation combined speech-language and cognitive training effectively promoted recovery in aphasia patients
• Adult Language (Cognitive Communication)
  • Improved Conversation Outcomes After Social Communication Skills Training for People With Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Communication Partners: A Clinical Trial Investigating In-Person and Telehealth Delivery
• Dysphagia
  • The efficacy of telerehabilitation in dysphagic patients: a systematic review
• Voice
  • Do patients treated for voice therapy with telepractice show similar changes in voice outcome measures as patients treated face-to-face?
• Paediatric Speech
  • A Clinical Decision Making Example: Implementing Intensive Speech Sound Intervention for School-Age Students Through Telepractice
• Paediatric Language (ASD)
  • Parent-Mediated Intervention Training Delivered Remotely for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Living Outside of Urban Areas: Systematic Review
  • An evaluation of resurgence following functional communication training conducted in alternative antecedent contexts via telehealth
• Paediatric Language (Hearing impairment)
  • A multisite study evaluating the benefits of early intervention via telepractice
  • A pilot study of telepractice for teaching listening and spoken language to Mandarin-speaking children with congenital hearing loss

Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC) has released an Official Statement on Speech-Language Pathology Services in Healthcare Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The purpose of this Official Statement is to support the health and safety of SAC members and associates providing speech-language pathology services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Official Statement highlights concerns in the international community about the potential for a number of speech-language pathology procedures to be aerosol generating. However, current guidance from some provinces and territories may not support this view.

In the context of this rapidly changing health emergency, SAC members and associates should consider the best available evidence when undertaking point-of-care risk assessments for individual patients.

S-LPs are encouraged to raise the profession’s concerns about the risks associated with speech-language pathology procedures with their employers, while making necessary modifications to their practice as part of a risk management approach to patient care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following resources may be used to inform clinical practice, as well as advocacy initiatives:

SAC Resources

• Official Statement on Speech-Language Pathology Services in Healthcare Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Information Sheet on the use of N-95 respirators for speech-language pathology services

• Update On Aerosol-Generating Medical Procedures

Canadian Resources

• Rehabilitation for Patients with COVID-19: Guidance for Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists and Assistants developed at McMaster University is a living document that provides specific considerations for rehabilitation professionals on the frontline.
• The Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Lab at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute has shared guidance for speech-language pathologists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Infection Prevention and Control for COVID-19: Second Interim Guidance for Acute Healthcare Settings (Health Canada)
• Guidance for Health Care Workers Performing Aerosol Generating Medical Procedures during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery)
• Guidelines for management of Head & Neck Cancer during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Canadian Association of Head & Neck Surgical Oncology)
• Recommendations on Post-Operative Care Following Tracheotomy During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Task force​)
• Stroke Best Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Heart and Stroke Foundation Canada)

International Resources

• ASHA Guidance to SLPs Regarding Aerosol Generating Procedures
• Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Guidance Produced in Response to COVID-19
• Speech Pathology Australia Guidance for Service Delivery, Clinical Procedures and Infection Control during COVID-19 Pandemic
• COVID-19 Information and Resources: Risk Management of AGPs for Dysphagia Care  (Dysphagia Research Society)