Families of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experienced barriers to accessing evidence-based early intervention services. Information was presented for 115 families with toddlers of age 16-33 months who participated in a 6-session behavioral intervention and support service model either in-person, through telemedicine, or through a hybrid service model. Caregivers, behavioral consultants, and Part C early intervention providers reported satisfaction with services, regardless of the service delivery model. Caregivers and consultants also reported positive child outcomes. Statistical differences emerged for the caregiver- and consultant-reported child outcomes in some domains, with stakeholders in the telemedicine-only group reporting slightly less improvement than stakeholders in the in-person-only group. Caregivers and consultants in the telemedicine-only group also provided qualitative feedback on benefits and challenges related to telemedicine services. Both caregivers and behavioral consultants reported positive outcomes following a brief behavioral intervention and support model targeted at families of young children with concern for ASD. Stakeholders reported improvement in child behavior and satisfaction with services across in-person, telemedicine-only, and hybrid service delivery models. These results suggested that telemedicine presented a promising opportunity for increased service access. Additional research was needed to continue optimizing the experience of telemedicine-based service delivery for both families and intervention providers.
Source:jneurodevdisorders.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s11689-021-09387-w
