Rosenbaum Peter L, Silva Mindy, Camden Chantal
Department of Paediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Otago University, Otago, New Zealand.
Disabil Rehabil. 2021 Apr;43(7):1022-1028. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1862925. Epub 2020 Dec 23.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost all aspects of our lives, and the field of childhood disability is no exception.
This article is based on an invited lecture by the first author at a conference-the eHealth Summit ("Pediatric Rehabilitation in a Digital Space")-organized by the other authors and their colleagues in May 2020.
The first author offers his own experiences and perspectives, supplemented by comments and observations contributed by many of the 9000+ attendees at this talk, as curated by the second and third authors. The basic messages are that while life for families of children with developmental disabilities, and for service providers who work with them, is significantly altered, many important lessons are being learned.
The comments from participants support the currency of the ideas that were presented, and encourage childhood disability professionals to reflect on what we are learning, so that we can seize the opportunities they afford to do things differently-and we believe better-moving forward.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONIdeas generated by colleagues and parents suggest that there may be alternatives to "business as usual" in childhood disability services after the COVID pandemic is over.People are recognizing opportunities, and benefits, to offering services virtually, including being able to see children in their natural environments, saving parents time, money and hassles to attend clinics in person, and perhaps increasing the availability of services.Many issues remain to be investigated systematically, including, among others, what services (assessments and interventions) require hands-on connections, what payment structures can accommodate new models of services, how professionals can work together in a virtual world, and what families will want.Regardless of the final answers to these issues, we believe that we should not simply "go back to normal"; rather, we should expand the range, nature and locations of our services for children with developmental disabilities and their families.
全球新冠疫情改变了我们生活的几乎所有方面，儿童残疾领域也不例外。
本文基于第一作者于2020年5月由其他作者及其同事组织的一次会议——电子健康峰会（“数字空间中的儿科康复”）上的特邀演讲。
第一作者分享了他自己的经历和观点，并由第二和第三作者整理了此次演讲9000多名与会者中的许多人的评论和观察结果作为补充。基本信息是，虽然发育障碍儿童家庭以及与他们合作的服务提供者的生活发生了重大变化，但也学到了许多重要经验教训。
参与者的评论支持了所提出观点的时效性，并鼓励儿童残疾领域的专业人员反思我们正在学到的东西，以便我们能够抓住这些观点所带来的机会，以不同的方式——我们相信也是更好的方式——向前发展。对康复的启示同事和家长提出的想法表明，新冠疫情结束后，儿童残疾服务可能有不同于“照常营业”的替代方案。人们认识到了虚拟提供服务的机会和好处，包括能够在自然环境中观察儿童、为家长节省亲自前往诊所的时间、金钱和麻烦，以及可能增加服务的可及性。许多问题仍有待系统研究，包括哪些服务（评估和干预）需要面对面接触、哪些支付结构能够适应新的服务模式、专业人员如何在虚拟世界中合作以及家庭会有什么需求。无论这些问题的最终答案如何，我们认为我们不应简单地“恢复正常”；相反，我们应该扩大为发育障碍儿童及其家庭提供服务的范围、性质和地点。
