Abstract: Telepractice has provided speech-language pathologists and audiologists with more resources they can access. Telepractice has made speech-language pathology and audiology services more accessible to people who previously had limited access. Additional resources and accessibility also provides new ethical dilemmas that require speech-language pathologists and audiologists to problem solve.
Description: Telepractice has increased accessibility to speech-language pathology and audiology services for populations who previously had limited access. Access to resources has also increased as a result of telepractice. With this increase in accessibility and access to resources come ethical dilemmas that were previously not encountered.
We will discuss what ethics is and how it relates to speech-language pathology and audiology. We will discuss guidelines and a framework for addressing ethical dilemmas. We will discuss examples of ethical dilemmas in the areas of assessment, treatment, CLD populations, and funding/reimbursement for services
Scenarios will include the ethical responsibilities of bilingual speech-language pathologists and audiologists who speak languages other than English and their role in assessments when contacted by speech-language pathologists and audiologists who not speak the target language. Other scenarios will involve the use of telepractice to train therapists who are not speech-language pathologists and audiologists but are working in countries where the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology are not an option. Scenarios will from private practice, school settings, and international research will also be presented. Scenarios will come from professional experiences of members of the TSHA Telepractice Committee.
Audience members will also be invited to ask general questions about different topics related to ethical dilemmas in telepractice.
A framework for how to address ethical dilemmas with telepractice will be proposed and feedback from the audience will be incorporated to make the framework applicable to people working on telepractice in different settings. A summary of an adapted framework that speech-language pathologists and audiologists using telepractice in different settings will be summarized and additional resources that can be accessed will be reviewed.
Presentation Format & Methods: PowerPoint and Interactive lecture with group discussions.
Supporting Research: Reference 1: Hall, K. D. (2022). Tele-ethics in communication disorders: Asking the right questions, finding the right answers. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7, 18-26.
Supporting Research: Reference 2: Cohn, E. R. & Cason, J. (2019). Ethical considerations for client-centered telepractice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 4, 704-711.
Supporting Research: Reference 3: Edwards-Gaither, L. (2018). Cultural considerations for telepractice: An introduction for speech-language pathologists. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 3, 13-20.
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Learning Objectives:
As a result of this presentation, the participant will be able to identify resources they can access when ethical issues arise in telepractice.
As a result of this presentation, the participant will be able to develop problem solving strategies to address ethical dilemmas that arise in their specific setting.
As a result of this presentation, the participant will be able to describe how telepractice can be a tool to provide options for ethical dilemmas.