How Teletherapy Found Me!

I get asked frequently why I got started in teletherapy so I thought sharing my journey would be a perfect way to start my blog. As I sit here writing, it becomes clear that you just can’t truly see what the future holds. Teletherapy Found Me before I found it. If I go back 5 years, I would have never thought I would be sitting here at my computer writing a blog about teletherapy. Honestly, my perceptions of teletherapy a few years ago were far different than what I see now.

I worked as a speech pathologist for 14 years in Hawley, MN as a school based SLP in early intervention. I LOVED working with young students because the gains were significant, therapy was fun, and work felt like playtime. Collaborating on a multidisciplinary team at this age level with was my JAM!

In 2015, I took a leap of faith and pursued a different position simply because I was exhausted from commuting 30 minutes on icy roads in the winter. I accepted a position with the Fargo Public Schools as a speech pathologist working with high school students. I enjoyed the change of pace and embraced the journey. Only 4 months into my contract, my husband was presented with an opportunity for his job that would move us to Omaha, NE. We trusted God’s plan for us and I finished my contract for the year and in June of 2016 we moved to Omaha, NE.

Because 3 of our children were still in elementary school, I was nervous for them with this big move. I felt the need to be available to them at all times during the transition so we agreed I would stay home for two years until our youngest son started Kindergarten. Once Brody was in Kindergarten, I was determined to work in an elementary school in the same district as my kids. As we all know, I ended up taking a different path.

Brody started preschool for 4 afternoons per week for about 2.5 hours. During this time, I started to get a little anxious about getting back to work. I started applying to the school districts but not too much was open. At the same time, I stumbled upon a facebook grouped on teletherapy and started reading. I quickly peaked an interest in working as a teletherapist for just a short time while Brody was in preschool. In my mind, I never even considered it to be long term. I continued to research teletherapy from facebook groups, pinterest, and reading Andee’s blog from “The Whimsical Word (https://www.thewhimsicalword.com/). I am going to be completely honest that I didn’t do too much research on what company was the best. Given this was only short term, I went off of recommendations of a few SLP’s I visited with in the online communities and went for it. I started working 10 hours per week as a teletherapist and immediately fell in love.

The 10 hours that I was working turned into 15 hours and before you knew it my son was in daycare two mornings per week so I could take on more clients. Before I knew, Brody was a preschool graduate! I fell into a full time position with benefits with an online virtual academy giving children a voice in a way I never thought was possible. My outlook on teletherapy quickly changed to see that this is an effective way to reach children with communication needs.

The title of today’s blog post is called “How Teletherapy Found Me” because that is exactly how my journey unfolded. It was not my intent to ever work from home as a teletherapist. Teletherapy found me and changed me. There is no turning back so come along on this journey with me. I encourage you to take a leap of faith if you think you “might” like teletherapy. I am sure teletherapy will find you too.

If you enjoy my blog, head over to the home page to find the link to check out my TPT store!