Remote Delivery of Allied and Behavioral Healthcare During COVID-19 for Children With Developmental Disabilities.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD) transitioned to telehealth services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objectives were to describe reductions in allied and behavioral healthcare services and receipt of caregiver training to deliver services at home because of COVID-19 for children with ASD and other DD, and factors associated with worse response to remote delivery of services for children with ASD. Prior to the pandemic, children 2 to 5 years of age were enrolled in a multi-site case-control study and completed a developmental assessment. Caregivers completed questionnaires on child behavior problems and ASD symptoms. Children were classified as having ASD vs another DD based on standardized diagnostic measures. Subsequently, caregivers completed a survey during January to June 2021 to assess how COVID-19 affected children and families. Caregivers reported that most children with ASD and other DD had a decrease in service hours (50.0%-76.9% by service type) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children with ASD were significantly more likely to experience reduced speech/language therapy than children with other DD. Receipt of caregiver training to deliver services at home ranged from 38.1% to 57.4% by service type. Among children with ASD, pre-pandemic problems with internalizing behaviors and social communication/interaction were associated with worse response to behavioral telehealth but no other common therapies. Our study demonstrates the caregiver-reported impacts of COVID-19 on remote delivery of allied and behavioral healthcare services for children with ASD and other DD. Considerations for caregiver support and remote delivery of services are provided.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Disclosure: Drs. Wiggins, Tian, Tinker, Yeargin-Allsopp, DiGuiseppi, Nadler, Powell, Moody, Durkin, Fallin, Ryerson, Thierry, and Pazol and Ms. Robinson have reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.