7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
1) Opportunity
Speech therapy for children is very expensive to families who do not have insurance. Additionally parents that have children with severe speech therapy needs may need more therapy than what the insurance covers every week.
2) Opportunity Description
To create a web and mobile application where speech therapy patients can over the internet receive a evaluation/diagnostic (every six months) of their children speech therapy needs and have weekly goals for their children to achieve where the parents will be instructed on how to give therapy themselves to their children, avoiding the high cost of therapy (without insurance around $60 per visit twice a week).
For the parents who have insurance and can take their children weekly to receive therapy, it is still beneficial to use the application as, the more therapy the child the receives, the faster they will advance. Therapy fro children is usually done through specific games that may target a specific skill such as: shapes/colors/object/activities recognition, proper pronunciation of vowels/consonants, and more.
The who: Parents with children that need speech therapy
The what: Speech therapy evaluations over the internet and instruction for parents to perform speech therapy themselves
The why: Speech therapy is expensive and for those that can afford, it will greatly benefit their child speech therapy advancement
3) Hypothesis
Testing the who: I believe this web and mobile application could be used by all parents that have children that need speech therapy and even by those parents who just want to make their children "smarter" by using this application to advance their cognitive and communication skills.
Testing the what: Once a parent is instructed on how to properly do specific assignments with their children to advance their speech therapy needs they have the ability to do it themselves.
Testing the why: Because speech therapy can be expensive and because parents may want to advance their children communication skills.
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Interviewee 1
Mother of three children where two of her children need speech therapy (mild need).
Has insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that she would not use such application because she has three children and besides being a mother she is also a wife and has a full-time job, therefore she would not have time to use it. She would just continue taking her children to therapy.
Interviewee 2
Father of a child with severe autism who needs speech therapy (severed need).
Has insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that he would definitely use the application. He feels that his son has had great advance since he started having therapy and the more he can do to help his son communicate better, he would. He would still take him to therapy, however he would use this application to do things a home with his son so he could advance faster.
Interviewee 3
Mother of two children who do not need speech therapy.
Has insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that she would most likely use this application. She said that she already tries to play specific games with her children to advance their cognitive and communication skills and it would be a great help to guide her towards which tools to use and how to track the progress of her children.
Interviewee 4
Father of a child who that needs speech therapy (mild need).
Has no insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that would definitely make use of this application given the fact that he has no insurance and besides speech therapy his child also need occupational therapy and both are very expensive.
Interviewee 5
Mother of three children who do not need speech therapy.
Has no insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that she would greatly appreciate this application. She is a stay at home mother who has enough time to make use of the application to help her children advance their communication and cognitive skills.
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4) Summary of Findings
The interviews revealed to me that whether someone will use this application or not use, will depend on a series of factors, such: Does the parent have insurance? Do they work full-time, part-time or don't work? Do parents see the value of increasing their child communication and cognitive skills even though they might not need it? Does the child also need another kind of therapy? How severe is the need for speech therapy?
5) Unknown Opportunity Facts Reveled Through Interviews
One opportunity I did not know about it was the fact that some children who need speech therapy may also need occupational therapy. This may be an opportunity to expand this "product" and increase competitive advantage.
Speech therapy for children is very expensive to families who do not have insurance. Additionally parents that have children with severe speech therapy needs may need more therapy than what the insurance covers every week.
2) Opportunity Description
To create a web and mobile application where speech therapy patients can over the internet receive a evaluation/diagnostic (every six months) of their children speech therapy needs and have weekly goals for their children to achieve where the parents will be instructed on how to give therapy themselves to their children, avoiding the high cost of therapy (without insurance around $60 per visit twice a week).
For the parents who have insurance and can take their children weekly to receive therapy, it is still beneficial to use the application as, the more therapy the child the receives, the faster they will advance. Therapy fro children is usually done through specific games that may target a specific skill such as: shapes/colors/object/activities recognition, proper pronunciation of vowels/consonants, and more.
The who: Parents with children that need speech therapy
The what: Speech therapy evaluations over the internet and instruction for parents to perform speech therapy themselves
The why: Speech therapy is expensive and for those that can afford, it will greatly benefit their child speech therapy advancement
3) Hypothesis
Testing the who: I believe this web and mobile application could be used by all parents that have children that need speech therapy and even by those parents who just want to make their children "smarter" by using this application to advance their cognitive and communication skills.
Testing the what: Once a parent is instructed on how to properly do specific assignments with their children to advance their speech therapy needs they have the ability to do it themselves.
Testing the why: Because speech therapy can be expensive and because parents may want to advance their children communication skills.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviewee 1
Mother of three children where two of her children need speech therapy (mild need).
Has insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that she would not use such application because she has three children and besides being a mother she is also a wife and has a full-time job, therefore she would not have time to use it. She would just continue taking her children to therapy.
Interviewee 2
Father of a child with severe autism who needs speech therapy (severed need).
Has insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that he would definitely use the application. He feels that his son has had great advance since he started having therapy and the more he can do to help his son communicate better, he would. He would still take him to therapy, however he would use this application to do things a home with his son so he could advance faster.
Mother of two children who do not need speech therapy.
Has insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that she would most likely use this application. She said that she already tries to play specific games with her children to advance their cognitive and communication skills and it would be a great help to guide her towards which tools to use and how to track the progress of her children.
Father of a child who that needs speech therapy (mild need).
Has no insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that would definitely make use of this application given the fact that he has no insurance and besides speech therapy his child also need occupational therapy and both are very expensive.
Mother of three children who do not need speech therapy.
Has no insurance/medicaid.
Interview summary: This interviewee said that she would greatly appreciate this application. She is a stay at home mother who has enough time to make use of the application to help her children advance their communication and cognitive skills.
4) Summary of Findings
The interviews revealed to me that whether someone will use this application or not use, will depend on a series of factors, such: Does the parent have insurance? Do they work full-time, part-time or don't work? Do parents see the value of increasing their child communication and cognitive skills even though they might not need it? Does the child also need another kind of therapy? How severe is the need for speech therapy?
5) Unknown Opportunity Facts Reveled Through Interviews
One opportunity I did not know about it was the fact that some children who need speech therapy may also need occupational therapy. This may be an opportunity to expand this "product" and increase competitive advantage.
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteI think you have found a special need in the community that will be able to help parents and kids all over the country. I think it would be good if in the future you got an interview from someone who has gone through speech therapy so you can gain an inside perspective. Also an interview from a speech therapist would give you further insight into how the program can be structured.
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteHope all is well. Your post took me back three years ago. My son was in the need for speech therapy. Through this experience, I learned that our state of Florida provides all types of therapies to children from birth up to thirty-six month of age at no cost. This program is called the Early Steps. However, as parents we look for all types of help or assistance to help out our children's development. Definitely, you have found an opportunity. Even, having overcome his impairment, I will use your app for a better development for my him. I did mention to you about the program, thinking that may help you to develop your solution further. The link is http://www.floridahealth.gov/alternatesites/cms-kids/families/early_steps/early_steps.html.