5 Tips to Prepare Your Child For a Telehealth Therapy Session

Preparation is helpful for any child who is experiencing something new. Preparing for a telehealth therapy session looks a little different than preparing for an in-person therapy session. As telehealth is proving to be an effective option for child therapy, I want to prepare you and your child for your telehealth sessions!

Psst… You can download the guide if you want to print it out.

Here are my top 5 tips for preparing your child for a telehealth therapy session:

Provide a Device Your Child Can Use Without a Parent in the Room

It is ideal if the child can use a laptop because then they would have the capacity to share their screen with the therapist, which is helpful if your therapist suggests certain resources. If that is not possible, no worries, any device that your child is comfortable using without the presence of an adult in the room will work!

Create a Private Space

Whether you’re in person or receiving services via telehealth, it is always important that the child has privacy for them to feel comfortable and safe opening up to their therapist without the fear of being overheard or observed by another family member.

*Pro Tip: consider placing a white noise or sound machine right outside the door of the room the child is in to add extra privacy for your child.

Test your Internet Connection

It is important to test this out beforehand in the room the child will be using to assure that the internet reaches that room well enough for a video session. Make sure you have 2.0Mbs DOWN & UP load speeds.

(In this example, there is plenty of download speeds; the upload speeds are the minimum you want to have).

Utilize Regulation Resources

It is important to provide the child with resources they can use if they need physical regulation in the room during the session. Some of my favorite regulation resources are drinking water, a snack, a fidget tool, a blanket and some kind of comforting stuffed animal or toy.

Collect Some Supplies

If you have some of these items in your home it will benefit your child to have them nearby during their session in case the therapist wants to utilize them for an activity.

• Play-doh or clay
• Paper
• Crayons/markers/colored pencils
• White erase board
• Headphones

*Pro Tip: grab a basket from around your home or from the dollar store to put all the regulation tools and supplies the child needs for therapy.

**These are considered the basics. Your therapist may ask for more specific supplies based on your child’s treatment goals.

Please note that many people do not have the ability to provide all of these things and that is OK! Ask your therapist for their advice on creative ways to set up the most beneficial telehealth therapy space in your home.