Telemedicine for autism is here to stay, and it’s brought a wealth of options and services to autistic people and their caregivers. From diagnosticians to therapists to skill-building groups and programs, parents and children are finding a wide variety of possibilities that were unavailable only a few years ago.
While not all telemedicine practitioners are top-notch, and some types of therapy are more effective in person, the benefits of telemedicine far outweigh the drawbacks.
This article will discuss the available telehealth options for the diagnosis and treatment of autism, as well as the benefits, drawbacks, and how to find services.
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What Is Telemedicine for Autism?
Unlike many other disorders, autism can’t be diagnosed with a medical test. It can’t be cured with pharmaceuticals or managed with hands-on clinical care. Many autistic people are children with parents or caregivers who are willing and able to support diagnosis, treatment, and management of autism traits. They’re eager to be trained.
Sometimes, these highly motivated parents are seeking treatments or therapists that are hard to find, particularly in rural areas. That makes autism a surprisingly good match for telemedicine.
Telemedicine is a way for practitioners to diagnose and treat patients at a distance using technology, such as video conferencing, texting, email, online tests, and more. Telemedicine is often less expensive and more convenient than an in-person visit, though there are limits to what a practitioner can see and do without physical contact.
For autistic children and adults, telehealth provides several important benefits. Specifically, it:
- Provides people with access to specialists and services that can be difficult to find locally
- Allows parents to engage in training and support programs without leaving home, thus saving money on babysitters and transportation
- Makes evaluation and treatment more affordable
How Telemedicine Is Used for Autism
Telemedicine for autism has grown substantially in a short time. It’s now possible to find well-qualified practitioners who can and will use the Internet to:
Applied Behavioral Analysis
Telehealth is one way of providing applied behavioral analysis (ABA), widely considered a “gold standard” of autism therapy. Many technologies for delivering ABA services emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. ABA remains controversial, regardless of how it’s delivered, among autism advocates who question its emphasis on “fixing” neurodivergent behaviors through its reward-based system.
Telemedicine Options to Consider
While telemedicine may not always be ideal, it can be a great alternative when travel or office visits are difficult or impossible to manage. These are some of the most popular and successful forms of telemedicine available to autistic people and their families.
In most cases, telemedicine is quite new—which means that research comparing distance versus in-person options is limited.
Diagnosis
It isn’t necessary to physically interact with a child to diagnose autism. That means practitioners can review records, send questionnaires by email, observe behaviors, and conduct specific tests using face-to-face video conferencing.
This is particularly meaningful because it can be hard to get a proper autism diagnosis in a timely manner due to the lack of qualified developmental pediatricians and neurologists, particularly in areas that are not close to large cities.
Telemedicine can speed up the evaluation process, thus providing families with faster access to appropriate services and therapies. It can also provide families in more rural areas with access to high-quality practitioners and clinics that may be associated with teaching hospitals in big cities.
Diagnosis via telemedicine is relatively new. To properly evaluate its success, it’s important to compare the results of remote diagnosis to the results of in-person diagnosis. At least one study has done just that, and the results have been positive. But more study is needed to confirm those findings.
Treatment and Parent Training
The vast majority of well-established treatments for autism—which include behavioral and developmental therapy, speech therapy, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy, among others—require little or no physical interaction.
What’s more, preliminary research suggests that there is little difference in quality or outcomes between distance and in-person treatment. That’s good news for caregivers who:
- Don’t have easy access to high-quality therapists in their area
- Have limited time or are not available during typical working hours
- Have other children who need care while an autistic sibling receives treatment
Another major plus of telemedicine is the expanded access to some less well-known forms of autism therapy.
While behavioral, speech, and social skills therapies may be available in schools, developmental therapies such as Floortime, relationship development intervention (RDI), or specific types of behavioral therapy are only available regionally. With telemedicine, families have a wider range of options.
Research also has been done in parent and caregiver training for autism treatment, with significant success. According to at least one study, even parent training for challenging behaviors seems to be effective at a distance.
The highly regarded Denver Model relies on parent training. A study found no meaningful difference in outcomes when parents received online versus in-person training.
Limits of Telemedicine for Autism
While telemedicine has many advantages for autism, it also has some limitations. When diagnosing, it’s important that providers get information from multiple sources, as the dynamics of meeting virtually might mask or exacerbate social interaction concerns.
One study found that an online social skills group for autistic teens was only mildly successful compared with in-person programs.
Certain types of therapy, such as sensory integration and some forms of occupational therapy and physical therapy, are truly hands-on treatments. While parents can be trained to implement some aspects of these therapies, only a trained professional with appropriate equipment can provide a complete treatment program.
Online parent support groups can be useful, but they have their limits. One of the most important aspects of parent support groups is the ability to share local information about schools, community services, funding, and more.
When a group is composed of parents from different regions, such sharing is less meaningful—though emotional support can be just as helpful.
How to Access Telemedicine for Autism
No clinician is required to provide telemedicine for autism, but most are willing and able to do so. If access to telemedicine is an important element in your search for a provider, ask upfront whether any given provider is open to online diagnosis or therapies. You may also be able to find information about telemedicine options on a provider’s website.
It is important to remember that telemedicine does rely on up-to-date computers, pads, or cellphones that are able to run programs like Zoom—and require very good Internet access to work well.
In addition, in order to receive telemedicine services for autism (particularly for a child or an adult with high support needs), a responsible adult must be physically present to set up the call, manage any behavioral issues, help maintain focus, and answer any questions that come up.
Summary
While relatively new, telehealth for autism has already been studied and may be as effective as in-person services in many cases. It can also be a lifesaver for families who find it difficult or even impossible to find high-quality services nearby.
Families can receive telemedicine services for a wide range of needs, including diagnosis, therapies, and parent training. If you’re struggling with finding or getting to therapies for an autistic loved one, consider online options. You may find that more accessible therapies lead to more successful outcomes.
This article was originally published by a www.verywellhealth.com . Read the Original article here. .