Individual or Group
Dear Ruth,How effective is group speech therapy compared with individual speech therapy? My child had a traumatic brain injury at one month of age. She has a seizure disorder and has autistic tendencies.
J.V.
Dear J.V.,
Therapy groups can provide valuable and unique services to individuals. A group can be a real community with real (authentic) reasons for communicating. There are opportunities for learning about the give-and-take of communication. Clinicians can guide children in using their skills to interact with others their age. Groups can add shared activities and motivation to therapy.
Groups do not take the place of individual therapy for children who need this, in my opinion. Children with significant challenges need some one-on-one time so that a skilled clinician can follow their unique needs and pace, one response at a time. In individual therapy, children can learn new skills that they can later rehearse and extend through a group experience.
Ideally, children will have a mix of both kinds of experiences. If I had to choose one over the other for significantly challenged children, it would be individual therapy since high-quality play groups, preschools or classrooms with a skilled teacher or facilitator can provide at least some of the benefits I have described for groups. Some children might need the therapist to ‘push in’ to the mainstream group from time to time to get the new skill going in that setting. Some might need an actual therapy group in order to benefit.
There is a range of options. Try to collaborate with your daughter’s therapist and teachers to develop an option that works for her.
Best Wishes,
Ruth Alice Jurey, M.S., C.C.C.
Speech/Language Pathologist
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