1. Telehealth assessment of autism in preschoolers using the TELE-ASD-PEDS: A pilot clinical investigation.
- Author
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Hodge, Antoinette, Sutherland, Rebecca, Ong, Natalie, Chan, Esther, Barnett, Diana, Bennett, Beverley, Boulton, Kelsie, Francis, Deanna, Guastella, Adam, Papanicolaou, Angela, Tomsic, Gail, Williamsz, Marcia, and Silove, Natalie
- Abstract
AbstractPurposeMethodResultConclusionAppropriate early intervention is beneficial but dependent on accurate and timely diagnoses. This has been affected by long waiting lists for face-to-face clinical services, in part due to pandemic lockdowns, with telehealth introduced in many services to continue clinical services. This pilot clinical study investigated the feasibility of integrating a specially-designed telepractice autism assessment tool into a tertiary diagnostic service.Eighteen boys (2;4–5;1) participated in the study. Assessment was undertaken as per standard practice (parent interview, questionnaires, review of reports), with an additional telepractice assessment, included in place of face-to-face assessment, to provide clinicians with an observation of the children’s communication, behaviours, and interests. Ten parents provided feedback via semi-structured interviews.The TELE-ASD-PEDS was a feasible assessment tool in terms of administration, clinical experience, and information gained through the assessment process. Parents reported mostly positive experiences of the TELE-ASD-PEDS and made suggestions for improvements for future use of this tool.It is possible to obtain useful information about a child’s autism-specific behaviours using the activities in the TELE-ASD-PEDS. This information can be combined with clinical history from parents using the DSM-5 framework to provide a gold standard assessment for autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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