Families of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience barriers to accessing evidence-based early intervention services. Telemedicine presents an opportunity to increase access to these services, particularly for families in rural and under-resourced areas. The present article describes a brief behavioral intervention and support model for families of young children with concerns for ASD. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this service model shifted to telemedicine-only service delivery, resulting in an opportunity to analyze intervention outcomes from services delivered either via traditional in-person visits, telemedicine-only sessions, or a hybrid model including both in-person and telemedicine sessions. Data are presented for 115 families with toddlers 16-33 months of age who participated in a six-session behavioral intervention and support service model either in-person, through telemedicine, or through a hybrid service model. This intervention was available for families referred for ASD evaluation through the state Part C early intervention program. Intervention feasibility, fidelity of implementation, child outcomes, and stakeholder satisfaction are compared across service delivery models. Caregivers, behavioral consultants, and Part C early intervention providers reported satisfaction with services, regardless of service delivery model. Caregivers and consultants also reported positive child outcomes. Statistically significant differences emerged for caregiver- and consultant-reported child outcomes in some domains, with stakeholders in the telemedicine-only group reporting slightly less improvement, compared to stakeholders in the in-person-only group. Caregivers and consultants in the telemedicine-only group also provided qualitative feedback on benefits and challenges related to telemedicine services. Both caregivers and behavioral consultants reported positive outcomes following a brief behavioral intervention and support model targeted at families of young children with concern for ASD. Stakeholders reported improvement in child behavior and satisfaction with services across in-person, telemedicine-only, and hybrid models of service delivery. These results suggest that telemedicine presents a promising opportunity for increasing service access. Additional research is needed to continue optimizing the experience of telemedicine-based service delivery for both families and intervention providers.

中文翻译：

---

利用远程医疗支持 ASD 幼儿的照顾者及其 C 部分服务提供者：三种服务提供模式的干预结果比较

患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的幼儿家庭在获得基于证据的早期干预服务方面经常遇到障碍。远程医疗提供了增加获得这些服务的机会，特别是对于农村和资源匮乏地区的家庭。本文描述了一个针对患有 ASD 的幼儿家庭的简短行为干预和支持模型。在 COVID-19 大流行的背景下，这种服务模式转变为仅提供远程医疗服务，从而有机会分析通过传统的面对面访问、仅远程医疗会议或混合模式提供的服务的干预结果，包括面对面和远程医疗会议。提供了 115 个家庭的数据，这些家庭有 16-33 个月大的幼儿，他们通过面对面、远程医疗或混合服务模式参与了六次行为干预和支持服务模式。该干预措施适用于通过州 C 部分早期干预计划转介进行 ASD 评估的家庭。干预的可行性、实施的保真度、儿童成果和利益相关者的满意度在服务交付模型之间进行了比较。无论服务提供模式如何，护理人员、行为顾问和 C 部分早期干预提供者都对服务表示满意。照顾者和顾问也报告了积极的儿童成果。在某些领域，看护者和顾问报告的儿童结果出现了统计学上的显着差异，与仅面对面组中的利益相关者相比，仅远程医疗组中的利益相关者报告的改善略少。仅远程医疗组的护理人员和顾问还就与远程医疗服务相关的好处和挑战提供了定性反馈。在针对患有 ASD 的幼儿家庭的简短行为干预和支持模式后，护理人员和行为顾问都报告了积极的结果。利益相关者报告说，通过面对面、仅远程医疗和混合服务提供模式，儿童行为和对服务的满意度有所改善。这些结果表明，远程医疗为增加服务获取提供了有希望的机会。