TheraWeb is an innovative conferencing software platform that enables speech and language pathologists and other therapists to interact with clients in real time over the internet. With the click of a mouse on an encrypted, secure URL, the client and therapist share audio and visual connections, enabling them to conduct sessions outside of conventional brick and mortar buildings in either individual or group settings depending on the client's IEP. This also allows for sessions to be recorded and stored in a computerized safe for future reference.
Once a student is deemed in need of services, the school district must provide these services within a federally mandated time frame. TheraWeb enables the student and therapist to begin working together very quickly. For cyber-schools, charter schools, and districts in rural areas, the ability for clients and therapists to interact with each other over the internet is a boon. In those circumstances, the therapist may have had to travel for a session, incurring travel expenses as well as being subject to the whims of the weather. For some districts, the reduction in transportation costs for the therapist represents 30-40% savings for their special education departments.
TheraWeb also enables easy access to specialists for people living in remote areas. A child living in Alaska is able to work with a therapist in New York, ensuring that he or she gets the best possible treatment for his or her challenges without either party having to travel. In addition to speech and language, other modalities available through TheraWeb include behavioral, psychological, occupational, and physical therapy. Therapists in the various fields are recruited at conferences. The ones who make the cut of being skilled in their fields and comfortable with today's technologies receive training in operating the software and keeping a client's attention for a full hour session.
Today's internet- and techno-savvy children have been reported to respond to online sessions even better than those conducted in person. Another plus is that parents who have permission can sit in on the sessions from anywhere in the world, helping them to stay involved and aware of the therapeutic process. While schools make up 95% of the customer base, the technology has been successful in serving clients of all ages, including infants and the elderly, through health care institutions.
At Innovation Tournament 2011, TheraWeb ranked among the final fourteen of the 250 competing products. Its parent company, Therapy Source, has been recognized by national organizations such as INC Magazine and SI Analysts as one of the fastest growing private companies in the US. It received recognition from SmartCEO magazine, a regional publication covering businesses in the Philadelphia area, for two consecutive years. In addition to client services, TheraWeb's resources are available for in-service training of school and health care personnel.
Fran Jablway
and
Hulet Smith, OT
