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Viability and effectiveness of teletherapy for pre-school children with special needs
1Segal House Nursery, 4 Annadale Avenue, Belfast, BT7 3JH. slt.mencap@dnet.co.uk
Insights
Teletherapy offers an affordable and effective way to deliver health services. This approach enhances parent training and child communication skills, marking a new era in therapy provision.
Area of Science:
- Health Services
- Telecommunications
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Telemedicine is increasingly valuable for healthcare delivery.
- Decreasing telecommunication costs make affordable teletherapy achievable.
- Parent training is crucial for successful treatment programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of teletherapy for parent training.
- To evaluate the impact of teletherapy on child communication skills.
- To explore the use of commercially available products for teletherapy.
Main Methods:
- Utilized commercially available, cost-effective, user-friendly audio-visual products.
- Implemented teletherapy sessions from clinic to home for skill sharing with carers.
- Focused on parent training as a vital component of treatment.
Main Results:
- Parents reported increased knowledge and confidence in developing their child's communication skills.
- Teletherapy was effective, reliable, and user-friendly.
- The approach facilitated skill sharing between clinicians and carers.
Conclusions:
- Teletherapy is an effective and reliable method for delivering parent training and improving child communication.
- Affordable teletherapy services are achievable in the 21st century.
- Teletherapy represents an exciting advancement in therapy provision.
Abstract:
Telemedicine is proving valuable in the delivery of health care services. With increased competition in telecommunication markets and lower costs, the possibility of providing affordable teletherapy services for the 21st century is now a goal that can be achieved. Recognition that parent training is a vital component of successful treatment programmes makes the use of teletherapy from clinic to home an ideal medium of sharing skills with carers. Commercially available products were selected on the basis of cost effectiveness, user friendliness and audio-visual quality. Parents reported increased knowledge and confidence in developing their child's communication skills and teletherapy was demonstrated to be an effective, reliable and exciting addition to a new era of therapy provision.