Is Online Speech Therapy Right for My Child? How to Tell

Online speech therapy is right for a child when the help they need can be given through talking, listening, looking and playing on a video call. For a younger child, an adult also needs to be nearby. It is the wrong starting point when the next step needs hands or equipment in the same room, such as a hearing test, a feeding or swallowing assessment, or therapy that relies on touch.

Most speech pathology work on speech sounds, language, stuttering, reading and spelling, and social communication is talk and play. That is why so much of it can be done by video. Whether video therapy works as well as sitting in the same room is a separate question, and the research on it is set out on the page does online speech therapy work?. This guide is about your child and your household.

When is in-person speech therapy the better choice?

In-person help is the better choice when a clinician needs to touch, examine or test your child, or when your child cannot take part in a video call even with an adult beside them. Before offering telepractice, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) tells clinicians to weigh a child’s hearing, vision, movement and attention, how well they understand and are understood, and the support and technology at home. It also names goals that may need in-person service: touch cues, programming a communication device, and feeding and swallowing.

Situation	Why in-person is the better choice	Where to start
Your child’s hearing has not been checked, or you have doubts about it	Children need to hear sounds properly to learn to speak clearly. A hearing test is done in person by an audiologist	Your GP, who can arrange a hearing check
Feeding, eating or swallowing is the concern	These assessments involve watching and handling food, drink and positioning up close	Your GP or child health nurse, and a speech pathologist who sees children for feeding in person
The therapy relies on touch	Some approaches guide the jaw, lips or face by hand, which a screen cannot do	A speech pathologist who offers that approach in person
A communication device needs to be chosen, set up or programmed	Handling and adjusting the device usually needs someone in the room	A speech pathologist who works with communication devices in person
The mouth, teeth, palate or throat needs a close physical look	A camera shows only part of what a hands-on examination can	Your GP, dentist or an in-person speech pathologist
Your child cannot see, hear or attend to a screen, even with you beside them	The session depends on your child taking in what is on the call	An in-person service, or advice on whether a parent-coaching approach would suit
No adult can be present for a young child’s sessions	Young children need a grown-up in the room to help and to carry the work into the week	An in-person service at a time an adult can attend
The home has no reliable connection or no private, quiet place	Dropouts and interruptions take the therapy time	An in-person service, or a school or community space with a good connection
Your child or teenager is firmly against video calls	Therapy asks a lot of a young person, and it is harder when they dislike the format	An in-person service

Some of these are first steps rather than reasons to avoid video. A hearing check comes first for many children whose speech or language is a worry, however therapy is later delivered, and once it is done online speech therapy may suit the same child well.

Online Speech Therapy is an online service: every session is by video. That makes this list a practical one for families reading it here. If your child’s situation is in the table, the right first step is in-person help.

What five questions should I answer before applying for online speech therapy?

Five questions, answered at home before you apply to any provider, will tell you most of what you need to know about whether online speech therapy is a sensible fit.

What kind of help does my child need? If the worry is how your child says sounds, understands or uses language, stutters, reads and spells, or gets on in conversation, the work is usually talking, listening and play. If it is feeding, swallowing or hearing, start in person.
Has my child’s hearing been checked? Healthdirect advises parents with a speech concern to ask their doctor about a hearing check with an audiologist. It is worth doing before or alongside therapy of any kind.
Who will be with my child during sessions? A toddler or preschooler needs a parent or carer beside them, joining in the play as the speech pathologist directs. A primary school child usually needs an adult within reach. A teenager may want privacy, with a parent joining for part of the time.
Can we give it a regular time and place? Online speech therapy needs a device with a camera and microphone, a steady internet connection, and a spot where your child will not be interrupted. The detail is on the technology and set-up page, and families on satellite or mobile internet will find more on speech therapy for rural, remote and travelling families.
How does my child go on a video call? Think about calls with grandparents or a class online. A child who will look, listen and answer for a few minutes at a time, with help, has what is needed to begin. A child who has not yet tried is not ruled out: the first session is often the real test.

If you can answer the first four comfortably and the fifth with “probably”, online speech therapy is worth applying for. If the first or second sends you elsewhere, that is a useful answer too.

Does my child’s age decide whether online speech therapy will suit?

Age changes how an online session runs far more than it decides whether one can run. With a toddler, the speech pathologist leads the session and shows the parent, sitting beside the child, how to play in ways that draw out talking. With a school-age child, the speech pathologist works with the child directly on the screen. With a teenager, the session is closer to a conversation.

Toddlers and teenagers each have a page of their own on this site: online speech therapy for toddlers and late talkers and online speech therapy for teenagers. School-age children have a section on the page of what Dr Lauren works on online. The worry most parents of young children raise, whether a small child will stay with a screen, is answered in the guide will my child sit still for online speech therapy?.

Does a diagnosis rule online speech therapy out?

No diagnosis rules online speech therapy in or out by name. What matters is the list above: what the therapy asks of your child, and whether your child can take part on a call with the support you can give. Two children with the same diagnosis can be very different on a screen.

For autistic children in particular, some find a familiar room and a predictable screen easier than a clinic, and others find video calls hard going. The page on online speech therapy for autistic children explains how sessions are shaped around the child.

How will I know before we commit to regular sessions?

An assessment is the point at which a speech pathologist can tell you whether online therapy suits your child, because it is the first time they see how your child responds on a call. Before then, a provider can only go on what you describe.

At the end of an online assessment, it is reasonable to ask any speech pathologist three direct questions. Did my child take part well enough for the results to be trusted, is anything about my child’s needs better handled in person, and what would the sessions ask of me? The page on the online speech assessment explains what Dr Lauren Crumlish (PhD), the Certified Practising Speech Pathologist who works with every family at Online Speech Therapy, looks at in that first appointment. The page on how online speech therapy works covers the sessions that follow.

What happens if online speech therapy does not suit my child after we start?

If online speech therapy turns out not to suit your child after starting, the sensible step is to say so early and move to in-person help, and nothing already done is wasted. ASHA’s guidance to clinicians includes the family’s right to ask for in-person services at any time, and a speech pathologist should raise it themselves if sessions are not working.

A few difficult sessions are not the same as a poor fit. A change of time of day, a different seat, a shorter activity or a bigger hand for the parent in the activities often settles things, and those are worth trying first. A poor fit looks different: weeks in which your child cannot take part despite changes, or a need coming to light that has to be handled in the same room.

Because Online Speech Therapy is a video only service, a move to in-person help means a speech pathologist near you. What you have learned so far goes with you: the assessment findings, any written report you have received, and the strategies you have been using at home.

What should I do next?

If the table has pointed you to a hearing check or to in-person help, start there. If your answers suggest online therapy could suit, the guide on how to choose an online speech pathologist sets out what to check about any provider before you commit.

Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability. Families who would like to work with her can apply, and our team will review your application.

Sources

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Telepractice (Practice Portal), read 15 November 2026.
Healthdirect Australia, Speech development in children, reviewed March 2026.
Healthdirect Australia, Speech pathology, reviewed July 2026.