Occupational therapists’ perspectives of using telehealth for youth with autism amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK: A pilot qualitative study

Abstract

The COVID-19 national emergency led to a surging demand for telehealth expansion within pediatric occupational therapy. Despite the growing literature on telehealth as a response to COVID-19, few studies explore the use of telehealth for children and young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This pilot study aimed to understand the experiences of occupational therapists adapting to a virtual delivery service model amidst COVID-19 to support youth with ASD. The researchers used a qualitative research design. Semi-structured, video-based interviews were used to collect data. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. This study included 3 UK registered occupational therapists. Four themes emerged from the data: 1. “Telehealth is Reducing Social Anxiety” 2. “Parents End Up Becoming Your Therapy Assistants” 3. “Nothing Will Replace Face to Face for Assessments” 4. “You Definitely Have to Be More Creative.” The themes report that telehealth can reduce social anxiety, increase skill transferability, and improve family involvement. Participants indicated that shorter sessions, movement-based interventions, planning and adapting to home-based resources were strategies that overcame the limitations of virtual therapy. The findings contrast with some previous research that found that telehealth may inhibit engagement and may strain the therapeutic rapport. This study supports existing literature that telehealth can enhance engagement, family involvement and generalization of skills. Findings from this study support the use of telehealth to deliver occupational therapy services for children and young people with ASD, but it is recommended that telehealth should not be a one size fits all service delivery model. Further larger-scale research is needed to confirm the study findings and to explore the family and young person’s perspectives of using telehealth.