Benefits and Challenges of a Telehealth Eating and Mealtime Intervention for Autistic Children: Occupational Therapy Practitioners’ Perspectives

Abstract

Eating and mealtime challenges are common in autistic children, yet intervention access is limited. Telehealth may provide opportunities to address this gap and increase access for underserved families. This study examined the occupational therapy practitioner’s perceptions of transitioning from a caregiver-mediated, in-home eating, and mealtime intervention for autistic children to telehealth owing to COVID-19 while considering the impact on accessibility, challenges, and benefits. Family characteristics were compared between groups. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews explored practitioners’ experiences of telehealth. Statistical findings and themes were directly compared and contrasted. The following three themes emerged: Intervention Adaptations, Challenges for Interventionists, and Benefits of Telehealth. The differences in the families’ geographic location were identified. Themes and family characteristic differences supported increased intervention accessibility for the telehealth group. This study provides preliminary evidence that telehealth can increase access to specialized services. There are benefits and challenges to implementing telehealth with families and autistic children.

Changes in Caregiver Outcomes After Participation in the Engaged Eaters Program: A Caregiver-Mediated Feeding Intervention for Autistic Children and Their Families

“…The Engaged Eaters Program-Telehealth is a caregivermediated feeding intervention for autistic children and their families (Hladik et al, 2023). The program was delivered in the home over Zoom and included a combination of comprehensive caregiver training on feeding challenges and contributing factors, caregiver-therapist collaboration on goals and intervention strategies, a direct feeding intervention, and modeling of intervention techniques.…”