Remote assessment in adults with Autism or ADHD: A service user satisfaction survey

Abstract

Advances in digital health have enabled clinicians to move away from a reliance on face to face consultation methods towards making use of modern video and web-based conferencing technology. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote telecommunication methods have become much more common place in mental health settings. The current study sought to investigate whether remote telecommunication methods are preferable to face to face consultations for adults referred to an Autism and ADHD Service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, whether there are any differences in preferred consultation methods between adults who were referred for an assessment of Autism as opposed to ADHD. 117 service users who undertook assessment by the ADHD and Autism Service at South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust from April to September 2020 completed an adapted version of the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ). Results demonstrated that service users found remote telecommunication to be useful, effective, reliable and satisfactory. Despite this, almost half of service users stated a general preference for face to face consultations. There was no difference in the choice of methods of contact between Autism and ADHD pathways. Remote telecommunication methods were found to be an acceptable medium of contact for adults who undertook an assessment of Autism and ADHD at an NHS Service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telehealth Autism Diagnostic Assessments With Children, Young People, and Adults: Qualitative Interview Study With England-Wide Multidisciplinary Health Professionals

“…Similar to the findings of this study, professionals elsewhere have raised concerns about the validity and reliability of telehealth autism diagnostic assessments and difficulties in assessing core autism traits remotely [ 13 , 15 - 19 ]. Concerns have likely been amplified by the fact that professionals are unable to use mainstay diagnostic tools, notably the ADOS-2 [ 27 ], and they may not yet be trained in alternatives with preliminary validation (eg, the Brief Observation of Symptoms of Autism) [ 22 ].…”

Towards the development of a curriculum to train behavior analysts to provide services via telehealth

“…In both cases, telehealth offered them opportunities to continue or expand their practice. Patients receiving services via telemedicine and telehealth have reported high levels of satisfaction with this modality (Rodrigues et al, 2021), and, in at least one recent study, a majority of respondents indicated a preference for receiving health‐related services remotely (Adamou et al, 2021). As noted previously, future research is needed on more efficient training modalities (e.g., asynchronous training) to promote the dissemination of this curriculum and on the long‐term maintenance and generality of this training.…”

Brief Report: Telehealth Satisfaction Among Caregivers of Pediatric and Adult Psychology and Psychiatry Patients with Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the Wake of Covid-19

“…While limited in scope, existing reviews focused on telehealth for persons with ASC have concluded that it is a promising delivery approach for both diagnosis and treatment of the condition (La Valle et al, 2022 ; Sutherland et al, 2018 ). Several newly published studies back these findings, with moderate to high satisfaction reported following diagnostic evaluations (Adamou et al, 2021 ; Jang et al, 2021 ) and treatment (Lynch et al, 2021 ; Pollard et al, 2021 ; Srinivasan et al, 2021 ) for those with ASCs. Unfortunately, relatively few studies or reviews have been conducted to determine the satisfaction of telehealth among individuals who have IDDs.…”