Providing Homebound Services

This Spring, I have had the unique opportunity to provide Speech Therapy services to a student in the home setting. The student is receiving Homebound Services following a major surgery, which requires him to recover at home through the end of the school year.
This student also uses a Dynavox V-Max to communicate. The goals/objectives in therapy are to help him become more independent and communicate his wants/needs via the Dynavox. There are advantages and disadvantages to providing this type of therapy in the home setting.
One advantage is the student's comfort level. The student is in a familiar, safe environment in which he feels comfortable. His mother is also present, which provides for familiarity. We also have the advantage of having common items available, flexibility with location, and a variety of communication partners (brother, etc.)
I've found that the disadvantages are more related to the adults than to the student. It is easy for the therapist and parent(s) to become involved in conversation and inadvertently leave the student out. Also, the student sometimes appears less motivated to work, presumably because he is in his home environment and has not had these demands placed on him at home before.
Over the next few weeks, my goal will be to utilize the advantages and increase functional communication in the home environment.