Department of Physical Therapy (Dr Su, Ms Cleffi, and Dr Bhat), Biomechanics & Movement Science Program (Dr Su, Ms Cleffi, and Dr Bhat), Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences (Dr Bhat), University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware; and Physical Therapy Program, Department of Kinesiology (Dr Srinivasan), Institute for Health, Intervention, and Policy (Dr Srinivasan), Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Dr Srinivasan), , University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
Pediatr Phys Ther. 2024 Oct 1;36(4):518-528. doi: 10.1097/PEP.0000000000001131.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have motor, social communication, and behavioral challenges. During the pandemic, children lost access to face-to-face (F2F) services and had to revert to telehealth (TH) options. We compared the efficacy, fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility of a general motor (GM) intervention using an F2F or telehealth (TH) format.
Fifteen children with ASD participated in an 8-week program involving gross motor games to promote motor and social communication skills. Differences across TH and F2F formats for motor and socially directed verbalization as well as stakeholder feedback on formats were collected.
Gross motor and socially directed verbalization did not differ between the F2F and TH subgroups, and parents and trainers were satisfied with either format. However, TH interventions were longer, had more technological challenges, and required more parental effort.
The findings of this study support the use of TH as a comparable and viable substitute for F2F interactions for children with ASD.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童存在运动、社会沟通和行为方面的挑战。在大流行期间，儿童无法获得面对面（F2F）服务，只能转向远程医疗（TH）选择。我们比较了使用面对面或远程医疗（TH）格式的一般运动（GM）干预的疗效、保真度、可接受性和可行性。
15 名自闭症儿童参加了一个为期 8 周的项目，其中包括促进运动和社会沟通技能的大运动游戏。收集了 TH 和 F2F 格式在运动和社交导向言语表达方面的差异，以及利益相关者对格式的反馈。
面对面和远程医疗亚组之间的粗大运动和社交导向言语表达没有差异，家长和培训师对任何一种格式都很满意。然而，远程医疗干预时间更长，技术挑战更多，需要家长付出更多努力。
这项研究的结果支持将远程医疗作为自闭症儿童 F2F 互动的一种可比且可行的替代方法。
