Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems have largely adopted the use of telehealth to provide outpatient services. This includes office visits, but also extends to therapies provided by Early Intervention. In general, the use of telehealth has been proven to be largely effective for medical appointments, to the point that many healthcare providers across different specialties are opting to continue using it by choice. One reason for this is the convenience factor, with eliminating travel time and reducing possible COVID-19 exposures. However, is telehealth a one-size fits all solution?
In my role as a fellow training in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, I encounter families daily who have children with developmental delays or autism who receive therapies such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, developmental therapy, and physical therapy. Talking with patients and families over the past few months, I have found that a large percentage of families have faced challenges with this system. Many families have opted for their child to stop receiving therapies if they were offered virtually, because it was too hard for the child to focus, so it ended up not being worth it for them. These children are losing out on therapy time in their most crucial years of development; I worry about the long-term effects of this.
I decided to explore this issue further and am conducting my LEND research project on the topic of parent satisfaction of live video visits in early intervention. Since this is a relatively recent issue, I think it will be interesting to collect feedback from families and determine the specific challenges. As virtual visits seem to be here to stay to some extent, having this data might allow us to come up with more effective strategies for how to deliver Early Intervention services. This could include focusing on parent-training for virtual therapies, or requiring certain therapies to be in-person with appropriate precautions. As healthcare providers, I feel that we have to do more to ensure that children are not falling through the cracks of the healthcare system as we shift into the new reality of a post-pandemic world.
The following is a useful guide created by the Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois to help providers optimize therapy sessions conducted via live video visit:
