In the realm of speech-language pathology, creating positive outcomes for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is paramount. A recent study titled Parent Engagement With a Telehealth-Based Parent-Mediated Intervention Program for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Predictors of Program Use and Parent Outcomes provides valuable insights into how telehealth can be leveraged to enhance parent-mediated interventions.
Here are key takeaways from the study that can help practitioners improve their skills and encourage further research:
- High Engagement and Satisfaction: The study found that parent engagement and satisfaction with the ImPACT Online program were high for both self-directed and therapist-assisted versions. This suggests that telehealth platforms can effectively engage parents in intervention programs.
- Therapist Assistance Boosts Engagement: Parents in the therapist-assisted group showed significantly higher engagement, including more frequent logins and longer durations spent on the site. This highlights the importance of providing remote coaching to maximize program engagement.
- Program Completion Predicts Parent Outcomes: Completion of the program was significantly associated with improvements in parent intervention knowledge and fidelity. This underscores the need for practitioners to encourage parents to complete the entire program for optimal outcomes.
- Impact of Parent Depression: Parents with higher depressive symptoms at pretreatment were less likely to complete the program. This indicates the necessity of addressing parental mental health to improve engagement and outcomes.
- Usability and Satisfaction Matter: High ratings of website usability and overall program satisfaction were strongly correlated with program completion. Ensuring that telehealth platforms are user-friendly and satisfactory is crucial for sustained engagement.
Practitioners can implement these findings by:
- Incorporating remote coaching sessions to enhance parent engagement.
- Providing mental health support for parents to improve program completion rates.
- Ensuring the telehealth platform is user-friendly and meets parents' needs.
Encouraging further research in this area can help refine telehealth interventions and tailor them to better serve families of children with ASD. For more detailed insights, practitioners are encouraged to read the original research paper.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: Parent Engagement With a Telehealth-Based Parent-Mediated Intervention Program for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Predictors of Program Use and Parent Outcomes
