The RIDBC Telepractice Training Protocol: A Model for Meeting ASHA Roles and Responsibilities
Telepractice continues to emerge as an acceptable alternative to the provision of in-person services in the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology. In Australia, the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) has been using telepractice for more than 10 years to meet the needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. In order to ensure that the quality of services provided via telepractice is equivalent to that of services provided in-person, RIDBC designed a comprehensive telepractice training protocol. The four-module program corresponds to the roles and responsibilities outlined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and include topics related to the technology, methodology, and pedagogy of working in a telepractice model. The RIDBC training protocol demonstrates one method of supporting practitioners to develop the necessary skills to effectively deliver services via telepractice.