Using Telehealth to Conduct Family-Centered, Movement Intervention Research in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: After the COVID-19 pandemic, several randomized controlled trials came to a halt; however, we chose to reinvent our study and shifted to a home-based, telehealth intervention delivery format to support children with autism spectrum disorder and their families. Children with autism spectrum disorder have social communication impairments as well as perceptuomotor and cognitive comorbidities. Continued access to care is crucial for their long-term development. Methods: We created a general movement intervention to target strength, endurance, executive functioning, and social skills through goal-directed games and activities delivered using a telehealth intervention model. Findings: Our family-centered approach allowed for collaboration between trainers and caregivers and made it easy for families to replicate training activities at home. Conclusions: While more studies comparing telehealth and face-to-face interventions are needed, we encourage researchers and clinicians to consider family-centered telehealth as a valid and feasible intervention delivery method, to increase the likelihood of carryover of skills into the daily lives of children and ultimately enhance their long-term development.

Expectations and Concerns about the Use of Telemedicine for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Parents and Healthcare Professionals

“…In addition, they also need to to prepare and send instructions and educational materials to parents prior to the virtual appointment. Parents, through parent training programs delivered by telematics systems, mediate intervention on their children [ 20 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 78 , 79 , 80 ], thus ensuring a more family-centred approach to care [ 81 , 82 ]. In contrast, few studies focus on distance interventions that directly target children and adolescents with ASD.…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Clinical Trial: A Quantitative Report on Study Engagement and Strategies

“…22 In this study, parents were active participants, which is similar to that of another recent intervention study conducted with older children. 9 Other factors that supported the successful continuation of the study were the resilience and adaptability of the research staff who were able to adjust to changing conditions of access to both the infants and their parents.…”

“…8 Although the change to telehealth took time, examples of successful implementation of telehealth service delivery included intervention trials with children with autism and virtual assessment clinics for infants at high risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities. 9,10 Given the need for research, as well as the longitudinal nature of developmental outcomes research, it was crucial that research teams use creative strategies to continue this important work. Limited enrollment or retention could limit the ability of a trial to be adequately powered before funding expires.…”

Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa

“…A hybrid service delivery model of telepractice has the potential to be reproduced in other public health facilities. The hybrid model holds potential to reduce the financial burden on patients and increase access to quality patient centered care (Benson, 2020;Coco, 2020;Camden & Silva, 2021, Cleffi et al, 2022Gefen et al, 2022;Hall & Luechtefeld, 2021;Khoza-Shangase et al, 2021).…”

“…There is growing support for telepractice internationally (Camden & Silva, 2021, Cleffi et al, 2022Gefen et al, 2022;Hall & Luechtefeld, 2021) and nationally (Rabe, 2022;Adebayo et al, 2021). In our annual review of services, therapists in the STA department indicated that telepractice allowed for increased caregiver engagement and generalization of activities in the home environment, thereby allowing for improved family centered care (Camden & Silva, 2021, Cleffi et al, 2022Gefen et al, 2022;Hall & Luechtefeld, 2021). One therapist stated that "through telepractice patients were able to still receive therapy, where this would not have been possible before.…”