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Show me what happens next: Preliminary efficacy of a remote play-based intervention for children with Prader-Willi
Anastasia Dimitropoulos1, Olena Zyga1, Ellen Doernberg1
1Case Westerm Reserve University, Department of Psychological Sciences, United States.
Insights
Telehealth interventions show promise for improving cognitive and emotional skills in children with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). This remote approach may overcome challenges in studying behavioral interventions for rare genetic disorders like PWS.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Genetics
Background:
- Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is associated with impaired social and emotional functioning.
- Recruiting sufficient participants for behavioral intervention studies in PWS is challenging due to the condition's low prevalence.
- Telehealth offers a potential solution to overcome geographical barriers in PWS research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the preliminary efficacy of a telehealth-delivered behavioral intervention for children with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).
- To assess improvements in cognitive and affective processes through pretend play in children with PWS.
Main Methods:
- A 6-week telehealth intervention was delivered to 15 children diagnosed with PWS, aged 6-12 years.
- The study focused on remote delivery of behavioral strategies via telehealth.
- Pretend play was utilized as a medium for intervention.
Main Results:
- Children with PWS showed significant improvements in cognitive and affective processes related to pretend play.
- Enhanced general cognitive flexibility was observed post-intervention.
- Preliminary findings suggest telehealth is a viable method for delivering interventions in PWS.
Conclusions:
- Telehealth interventions can effectively target cognitive and behavioral deficits in children with Prader-Willi Syndrome.
- Pretend play, facilitated via telehealth, shows potential for promoting cognitive and behavioral change in PWS.
- Further research with larger sample sizes and control groups is warranted to confirm these preliminary findings.
Abstract:
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is characterized by decreased social and emotional functioning. Due to the low base-rate of children with PWS, developing behavioral interventions for individuals with PWS is faced with the challenge of enrolling enough local participants for adequate study of behavioral intervention efficacy. However, these types of studies are greatly needed in PWS and telehealth methodology may be useful in addressing this challenge. This article is a follow-up to a previous feasibility study (Dimitropoulos et al., 2017) and reports on the preliminary efficacy of a telehealth intervention delivered to 15 children, ages 6-12, with PWS. Overall, children demonstrated significantly improved cognitive and affective processes in pretend play and general cognitive flexibility following the 6-week remote intervention. These findings are limited by the lack of control group and small sample size which should be considered when interpreting results. Overall, these preliminary findings point to the potential role pretend play can serve as a means of enacting cognitive and behavioral change via telehealth.
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