The integration of telepractice in speech pathology has expanded access to therapy and has become a widely accepted form of service delivery, particularly for children in rural or remote areas. However, in-person community visits paired with telepractice offer an invaluable opportunity to enhance rapport building, as well as child and teacher confidence, which significantly improves therapy outcomes. This presentation will explore how periodic community trips, combined with telepractice, advance access to speech pathology services and therapy outcomes.

The presentation highlights the importance of building strong relationships and rapport with both students and teachers. Visiting students in their environment provides speech pathologists with a vast range of possibilities to increase connection, rapport, and ultimately outcomes. On an individual level, this can include connecting on the strength of their real life high five, to how short you are in person, to observing their natural peer interactions in the classroom. Additionally, the community visits enable speech pathologists’ greater flexibility and responsiveness in addressing student needs. At Royal Far West, this extends to whole-class workshops led by multidisciplinary teams, which focus on topics such as friendship.

Community visits also provide a critical opportunity for early intervention and prevention. By becoming part of the students' school week, speech pathologists can identify emerging communication issues and collaborate with teachers to provide timely support. This collaborative approach also ensures that staff feel confident and are equipped with strategies to recognise the early indicators for referral themselves.

Evidence-based practice will be integrated throughout the presentation, highlighting how student engagement, therapeutic progress, and school-based interventions align with current research. By promoting a hybrid telepractice-outreach model, this presentation aims to advance knowledge in speech pathology, demonstrating how regular in-person visits can enhance therapeutic outcomes and improve student well-being, demonstrating a more comprehensive place-based speech pathology service.

Armstrong, R., Schimke, E., Mathew, A., & Scarinci, N. (2023). Interprofessional Practice Between Speech-Language Pathologists and Classroom Teachers: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 54(4), 1358–1376. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_lshss-22-00168

Brimo, D., & Huffman, H. E. (2023). A survey of Speech-Language Pathologists’ and Teachers’ perceptions of collaborative Service Delivery. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 54(3), 873–887. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_lshss-22-00107