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Unlocking Telehealth Therapy Success: A Practitioner's Guide to Treatment Integrity

Unlocking Telehealth Therapy Success: A Practitioner\'s Guide to Treatment Integrity

The COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the way Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is delivered, with telehealth becoming a critical tool. However, ensuring the integrity of telehealth therapy remains a challenge. The research article "A Measure for Supporting Implementation of Telehealth Direct Therapy With Treatment Integrity" offers a robust framework for enhancing telehealth therapy sessions.

Here's how you can apply the outcomes of this research to improve your telehealth therapy practice:

1. Embrace the Telehealth Therapy Treatment Integrity Measure (TTTIM)

The TTTIM is a 44-item tool designed to assess and improve the quality of telehealth therapy sessions. It covers seven critical domains:

2. Focus on Caregiver Engagement

Telehealth therapy often requires greater caregiver involvement. Use the TTTIM to ensure caregivers are effectively engaged and supported. This includes setting clear session expectations, providing rationales for lessons, and collaborating on data collection.

3. Plan Meticulously

Effective telehealth sessions require thorough planning. The TTTIM emphasizes the importance of ensuring all materials are ready, planning for transitions, and setting learning opportunity goals.

4. Enhance Patient Engagement

Engaging patients through a screen can be challenging. The TTTIM suggests conducting regular preference assessments, using a variety of engagement techniques, and effectively leveraging technology to keep patients engaged.

5. Optimize Downtime

Even during breaks, engagement should be maintained. The TTTIM advises setting clear downtime expectations, targeting functional language, and reinforcing appropriate behaviors.

6. Implement BIPs with Precision

Ensure that behavior intervention plans are followed accurately. The TTTIM highlights the need for antecedent modifications, reinforcing replacement behaviors, and precise data collection.

7. Focus on Skill Acquisition

Telehealth therapy should focus on both maintaining and acquiring new skills. The TTTIM provides guidelines for setting clear expectations, troubleshooting difficulties, and using reinforcement effectively.

8. Accurate Data Collection

Data collection is vital for assessing progress. The TTTIM stresses the importance of immediate data collection, noting challenges, and communicating them to supervisors.

Implementing the TTTIM can significantly enhance the quality and integrity of your telehealth therapy sessions. For more detailed guidance, consider reading the original research paper: A Measure for Supporting Implementation of Telehealth Direct Therapy With Treatment Integrity.


Citation: Nohelty, K., Hirschfeld, L., & Miyake, C. J. (2021). A Measure for Supporting Implementation of Telehealth Direct Therapy With Treatment Integrity. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(2), 422-433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00543-7
Marnee Brick, President, TinyEYE Therapy Services

Author's Note: Marnee Brick, TinyEYE President, and her team collaborate to create our blogs. They share their insights and expertise in the field of Speech-Language Pathology, Online Therapy Services and Academic Research.

Connect with Marnee on LinkedIn to stay updated on the latest in Speech-Language Pathology and Online Therapy Services.

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