King's College London, UK.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
Autism. 2023 Aug;27(6):1616-1627. doi: 10.1177/13623613221142730. Epub 2023 Jan 16.
Recently, therapy has been delivered at a distance (i.e. remotely) to help control the spread of coronavirus. Clinicians have voiced concerns that remote delivery is unsuitable for certain individuals, including those who are autistic, but they have also highlighted potential benefits for autistic individuals. Benefits include some individuals feeling more comfortable receiving therapy at home. This is the first study to interview autistic individuals about their experience of remote therapy. Participants were six young people aged 15-18 years and eight clinicians. Participants described their experience of remote delivery, including challenges, benefits, and suggestions. Most of these supported previous research findings, but some were new or provided further insight into those already identified. A newly identified challenge was knowing online social etiquette. All participants found aspects of the experience challenging, but all identified benefits and most voiced that remote sessions should be offered to young people. Participants further identified individual characteristics that may make someone less suited to remote delivery (e.g. shyness). They also identified ways of making the experience of remote delivery easier (e.g. sitting with a pet). Young people's and clinicians' views were similar overall, with only subtle differences. For example, young people uniquely voiced that remote delivery was similar to in-person, that benefits were hard to identify, and provided distinct reasons for the social interaction feeling less intense remotely. Findings may be used to improve remote delivery, for guiding future research, and as a case for continuing to offer it to those who may most benefit.
最近，远程治疗已被用于帮助控制冠状病毒的传播。临床医生担心远程治疗不适合某些人，包括自闭症患者，但他们也强调了远程治疗对自闭症患者的潜在益处。好处包括一些人在家中接受治疗会感到更舒适。这是第一项采访自闭症患者远程治疗体验的研究。参与者包括六名 15-18 岁的年轻人和八名临床医生。参与者描述了他们远程治疗的体验，包括挑战、好处和建议。其中大多数支持先前的研究发现，但也有一些是新的或对已经确定的发现提供了进一步的见解。一个新发现的挑战是了解在线社交礼仪。所有参与者都认为治疗过程具有挑战性，但都认为有好处，而且大多数人表示，应该向年轻人提供远程治疗。参与者还确定了可能使某人不太适合远程治疗的个人特征（例如害羞）。他们还确定了使远程治疗体验更容易的方法（例如与宠物一起坐着）。总体而言，年轻人和临床医生的观点相似，只有细微的差异。例如，年轻人独特地表示，远程治疗类似于面对面治疗，好处难以确定，并且远程治疗的社交互动感觉不那么强烈提供了不同的原因。研究结果可用于改进远程治疗，为未来的研究提供指导，并作为继续为最受益的人提供远程治疗的理由。
