These teletherapy resources are free, open-ended, and adaptable by any therapist or counselor and require almost zero preparation- Short animated films are a total hidden gem in the pediatric teletherapy world. These videos usually do not have dialogue, so they allow for open-ended conversation and endless language targets. These videos will be highlighted from a speech and language pathologist perspective and how to use them for language treatment; however, any mental health professionals out there could also utilize these films. Many of them focus on emotions and empathy and there’s often a “moral of the story”. They make great conversation starters.
We’re going to eventually get to the list of absolute favorite animated films to utilize, but first, let’s review the therapy strategies and targets that pair well with these films.
”Wh” questions
Depending on the skill level or age of your client, either plan to pause the video every 1-2 minutes to ask them some “who, what, where questions”, or have them watch the whole video before you ask them comprehension questions. Older children, could practice their note-taking skills while they watch it, then answer “wh” questions at the end. You might also want to discuss how effectively they were able to pull out key points (i.e., did they remember or take notes on the topics you asked about?). Another great “wh” question to target with these films is “Why do you think ____?”. For example “Why do you think the boy was crying at the end?” Expand on wh questions, by asking the child to support their answer with details from the film.
Story Retell/Note-taking skills/Main Idea and Details
This is an easy one to adapt based on your client’s skill level. For most of my middle and high school students, you can add a story map PDF to your resources folder on Theraplatform and ask them to fill it out after they watch the video. Once they are done, you can have them verbally retell the story. To adjust the difficulty level, think about whether the child would benefit from a discussion about the video before they start the project, or if they are independent enough to interpret all the meaning from the silent film themselves without any hints from you. Provide them with feedback on whether they pulled out the most important details from the story. Prompt them to use sequence terms like “first, then, last”.
Sequencing
Speaking of sequencing, that’s a super easy skill to target with short silent films. For an easy receptive task ask something like “Did the girl go to school before or after she went to the park?”. For an expressive task, ask the child to draw a three-step picture sequence on the whiteboard then use the pictures to retell the story using sequential terms like “first, then, last”.
Inferencing/Predicting
This is one of the MOST relevant skills to target and one of the main reasons why these films are so great for therapy. Most of the films do not have dialogue. The child must infer constantly to figure out what’s going on. Depending on the child’s skill level, you may want to pause every 30-the 60s to ask “Ok so what’s going on now?” or “What do you think will happen next?”. As their skills improve, have them watch the whole video, then use their inference skills to summarize the whole film. Don’t forget to ask the child to support their answer with evidence from the film and have them rewatch scenes that they did interpret correctly.
Empathy/Emotion Education/Social Skills/Problem Solving
This is another one where the lack of dialogue is a perk. Help the child identify and discuss the character’s feelings. Talk about what their body language tells the viewer. Highlight to the child that we are always communicating, even when we aren’t talking. You might say something like “Isn’t it cool that they told a whole story without any words,” then talk about what sorts of “stories” we tell with our body language (e.g., laying our head down in class tells everyone we are tired or bored, crossing our arms might tell someone we don’t want to talk to them, eye contact tells someone we are interested in what they are saying).
Sentence formulation/Vocabulary
The videos make an excellent visual prompt for all sorts of syntax and sentence formulation tasks. For example “We’ve talked about the word ‘analyze’ this week. I noticed someone analyzing something in the film. Tell me a sentence about the video, using the word analyze”. You could also pause every 30-60 seconds during the film, and ask the child questions to probe their use of verb tense. Talk about what ALREADY happened, what IS happening, and what WILL happen.
Conversational turn taking
Have the child make up a dialogue that the characters may have wanted to say or may have thought in their heads. Use the whiteboard to add a visual component and maybe create a comic book-like creation!
So that right there is how one can get through an entire semester of online therapy with almost no session planning time. If you do it right, you can get several sessions out of each video, and you can certainly circle back a month or two later, to a video you already watched. The second time you watch the video together, increase the difficulty of your tasks and reduce your support. You might just be amazed at the progress the client has made.
So without further hesitation here is the list…
Top 10 Favorite Videos on Youtube to Use in Teletherapy
- Carrot Crazy (Ringling College of Art and Design)
- Day & Night (Pixar)
- Piper (Pixar)
- Erste Christmas Ad 2018: What would Christmas be without love? (Erste Group)
- For The Birds (Pixar)
- Jack-Jack Attack (Disney)
- Lifted (Pixar)
- Partly Cloudy (Pixar)
- Pip: A Short Animated Film (Southeastern Guide Dogs)
Tips for Early Intervention Telepractice
If you’re a therapist working with the 0-3 population via telepractice for the first time, you may be worried about filling up the whole session time. Well first off; you’re not alone. That’s one of the top reported reasons therapists are worried that telepractice won’t be a good fit for their youngest clients. This blog provides practical tips for early intervention telepractice, using a weekly parent interview.
During a home visit, moving from one room to the next takes time; manipulating toys and materials take time; greeting families takes time. You may be concerned you’re going to run out of things to do and say when you’re sitting in front of a screen.
On top of that, you naturally want to make every second count for the family…give them the most bang for their buck, if you will. There’s no single solution that fits every situation when it comes to early intervention telepractice, but this one comes pretty close. Weekly parent interviews! Commit to beginning each therapy session with a parent interview and watch the magic happen.
What magic, exactly?
On top of the obvious answer “it takes up time”, here are some more ways that adding a parent interview will improve your treatment via telepractice:
• It builds rapport. Checking in with the family shows them you care how things are going and want to adjust your plan to suit their needs. You might ask “how did my idea about bath time go this week?,” and they may say awful, but that’s a lot better than them just ignoring the rest of your suggestions in the future, because the first one didn’t work! If it didn’t work, spend time figuring out why. Families need to be heard.
• It’s an easy way to get more treatment ideas. For example, the parent says “well the hardest part of our week was mealtime. Susie throws a fit every time she’s out of food on her plate!” and boom! You’ve got a new goal to target the “more” sign.
• Checking in builds accountability. If you start asking specifics about how their home program went each week, the family may be more likely to remember to try it, so they have something to report next time!
• Spending time on coaching and conversation reduces session planning time. Not every pediatric therapist loves developing detailed session plans with 16 activities each week, and that’s okay. Spend time talking with the family, giving feedback, and learning what matters most to them. You can’t go wrong. A conversation about the child’s goals and daily activities is never a waste of anyone’s time. Also, if you make the right list of questions, you can use that same list most weeks with most kids. So spend the time to make one good list one time, get it uploaded to your resources, and you’re set for months!
So there’s the “why”. Here’s the “how”:
Depending on the family, they may like the structure of the routine, and you may want to screen-share during your telepractice session while you do it; showing them the questions and typing in their answers as you go (or if you’re using Theraplatform, you can upload a PDF document with the questions written and add their answers as you go. You can also share a weekly intake form on TheraPlatform with a parent ahead of time so a parent can fill it out at home and then you can review it together.)
You might say, “Before we get started with anything else today, I want to check in on how things went this week, so we know how I can help you in the future. Just answer these questions as honestly as you can, remember my goal is accommodate your family’s needs and target the skills that are most important to you and your child”
For other families, you may not want to formally announce “this is interview time”; rather you’d just start with a more informal check-in and ask some of the questions I suggest at the end of the article.
You might say, “I remember you saying last week that Johnny was always throwing his toys instead of playing with them. I had suggested using verbal praise every time he played correctly. Did you notice any improvements this week?”
Whether you decide to keep things super organized and visual by uploading a list of questions and taking notes on them for your family to follow along with, or you decide to keep it more conversational, you might consider having a go-to list of questions for reference.
Here are a few ideas:
• Tell me something fun you did with your child this week
(Provide feedback on how to add developmental activities to this routine)
• Tell me about a difficult interaction you had with your child this week
(Give them ideas to improve this interaction)
• Tell me one time you incorporated something we learned in our last session while interacting with your child this week
• Is there a certain skill you’d like to work on this week?
• Have there been any big changes this week?
• What toys have your child been interested in this week?
• What skills seem to be improving for your child right now?
What other questions would be useful to you and your clients for early intervention telepractice? Let us know, so we can keep a running list!
