Leanne Sherred, a pediatric speech-language pathologist, has long struggled with implementing caregiver-directed therapy in traditional healthcare settings.
Research suggests that caregiver-led speech therapy, which involves training patients’ caregivers in therapeutic skill-building techniques to use at home, can be very effective. But as Sherred has observed in her practice, therapists often have limited access to caregivers and face serious barriers to education and technology.
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Sherred saw an opportunity to try a new model of state-of-the-art speech-language pathology care, one that puts caregivers “at the center of care” (in her words). She teamed up with Nick Barbara (Sherred’s partner), Spencer Magloff and Ryan Hinojosa to found Expressable, a platform that offers one-on-one virtual sessions with speech therapists.
“On top of Expressable’s synchronous care is a platform that includes in-home multimedia programming, interactive weekly practice activities, therapist text support and much more,” said Magloff, chief marketing officer of Expressable. ‘Expressible, to TechCrunch in an interview. “With Expressable, speech therapy is not limited to once or twice a week, without caregiver participation.”
Expressable is covered by some insurance plans (including Medicaid), but also offers private pay rates and accepts HSAs and FSAs. It connects patients with speech therapists who can meet their needs and accommodate their schedules. The paired therapist develops a treatment plan and then meets regularly with the patient and/or their caregiver for online sessions.
Some aspects of the plan are designed to be completed on the patient’s own time, via Exressable’s self-service platform. Patients and caregivers can track week-to-week progress toward goals and milestones in their individualized plans.
Expressable, which is aimed at adult and child patients suffering from disorders ranging from language disorders to speech delays, including aphasia, stuttering and autism spectrum disorders, very early differentiated itself from many others telehealth startups by hiring its healthcare specialists as W2 employees rather than contractors. While this increased Expressable’s medical licensing burden, it positioned the company well to handle difficult speech cases, Magloff says, which often require intensive, multi-year treatment plans.
“With Expressable, parents and caregivers become active members of their patients’ care team, extending care into the home and throughout the therapeutic advancement for faster results,” Magloff said.
The digital and telehealth sector benefited from liberal access to capital during the height of the pandemic, but has cooled noticeably. But Expressable is bucking the trend, closing a $26 million Series B round earlier this week led by HarbourVest Partners with participation from Digitalis Ventures, F-Prime Capital and Lerer Hippeau.
With $50 million in the bank, Expressable plans to make improvements to its care delivery model and core technology, expand its payer relationships, and grow its therapist network and operations team. The company is also experimenting with various forms of AI, Magloff says.
“There are a number of relevant AI use cases that we are currently exploring or adapting to improve the customer experience,” he added. “These could help catalog common speech errors, reduce administrative burdens on clinicians, and improve operational efficiency.” »
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