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From: Deborah Kully
Date: 10/11/01
Time: 2:28:26 PM
Remote Name: 129.128.181.13
Hello Gunars,
I apologize for the long delay in responding to your message. As Ken St. Louis indicated, we here at ISTAR have been involved in delivering therapy at a distance for some time, both through the use of interactive audio-video links (room-based telehealth systems) and through the telephone. This has been a necessity for us because many of the people who attend our intensive clinics come from distant places in North America and overseas, and because we often receive requests from people who live in very remote areas. We have used the telephone only for follow-up maintenance therapy and interactive A-V for both the initial therapy and follow-up (but only in selected cases where the technology appeared to be a good match for the case). Although we have not completed a controlled study to compare the effectiveness of distant vs face-to-face therapy, our impressions are that results are comparable in most cases.
In response to your question about whether any organization would be willing to provide intensive therapy with distant follow-up, I can tell you that we would certainly be willing to do so providing that the boy himself wants formal help. If you are interested, I would be happy to send you an information packet that you can pass on to the family. I would also be happy to send you a reprint of an article about telehealth applications to stuttering therapy (Telehealth in speech pathology: applications to the treatment of stuttering, Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, Vol 6 Supp 2, 2000).
Please feel free to email me directly at deborah.kully@ualberta.ca or refer to website http://www.ualberta.ca/~istar/.