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Parenting can be an incredibly rewarding experience, albeit a challenging one. It’s even more challenging when the child has developmental disorders (DD). It can be difficult for parents to understand the best way to raise their children in a way that supports positive behavior and development. Fortunately, pediatric telehealth visits are proving to offer significant and maintained improvements for children with developmental disorders and their caregivers. A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics offers insights into how telehealth-parenting interventions can support parents in working with their children’s behavior. It adds yet other insights into using telehealth to work with families challenged by autism.
Methods
The researchers aimed to identify significant and maintained improvements in the behavior of the children and the ability of caregivers to support these improvements. The study evaluated the efficacy of a telehealth parenting intervention for behavior problems in young children (aged between 18 months to 63 months) with DD. The study included 150 child-caregiver dyads. They were assigned to a treatment group or referrals as usual (RAU). The experimental group was given internet-delivered parent-child interaction therapy (iPCIT), which uses a family telehealth videoconferencing experience to provide live coaching of home-based caregiver-child interactions. Families in this group received 20 weeks of iPCIT (provided in English or Spanish). The participants were randomly assigned to receive internet-delivered parent-child interaction therapy (iPCIT) or referrals to the usual resources (RAU) as a control group.
Family Telehealth Results
Children who received iPCIT showed significantly lower levels of externalizing problems and higher compliance with caregiver direction after treatment compared to those in the RAU group. Compliance with caregiver direction is essential to support positive child behavior,…
