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From: Chris Lewis
Date: 12 Oct 2006
Time: 00:55:47 -0500
Remote Name: 211.29.213.9
Hi Christine, Thanks for your feedback & questions. It is good to hear that people are enthusiastic regarding the telehealth adaptation of the Lidcombe Program! Yes, I have experience in implementing the Lidcombe Program by telehealth as I was the treating SLP in the current study. As I have mentioned in a couple of previous replies, the children in the experimental group required a mean of 49 telephone consultations over a mean period of 62.9 weeks to reach the criteria for completion of Stage 1 (that is, stuttering at or below 1%SS, and parental severity ratings averaging 1 for a minimum of 3 weeks). A recent prospective study of standard Lidcombe Program delivery (Rousseau, Packman, Onslow, Harrison & Jones, 2006) reported a mean of 17.9 clinic visits over a mean period of 26.9 weeks to reach the same criteria. Clinic based delivery of the Lidcombe Program therefore remains the best practice option, with telehealth offering an efficacious alternative for isolated preschool stuttering children and their families. Yes, it is possible for parents to make errors implementing the Lidcombe Program whether by clinic based or telehealth delivery. Treatment components are added more cautiously with telehealth delivery to ensure that current treatment is being implemented correctly before anthing else is added, and this minimises errors. Regular, weekly exchange of audio samples of treatment and 'phone consultations allow for errors to be identified and corrected promptly and effectively. It is not possible to generalise about how long it takes to correct individual errors, but of course the aim is to do this as soon as possible, and to ensure always that treatment is safe and positive for the child. As I mentioned in a couple of previous replies, I am unable to provide information regarding costs and insurance. I am aware that this has been raised in the general telehealth literature. The telehealth treatment in the current study was provided free of charge to the families and the study was funded by a grant. In Australia, SLP services are available free of charge through the government funded public health system. I am uncertain if families here with private health insurance can claim for telehealth services provided by private clinicians. Thanks again for your interest - I hope this information is useful. Chris.