Current Trends in Telehealth Applications to Deliver Social Communication Interventions for Young Children with or at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Abstract

Purpose of ReviewEarly, intensive, and high-quality interventions can often improve social communication outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many children experience barriers to intervention, resulting in significant delays to intervention onset or missed opportunities for intervention altogether. With constant advances in technology, the field is experiencing a rapid increase in investigation of telehealth applications to intervention delivery. This article highlights the current trends in social communication intervention via telehealth used in early intervention practices for children with ASD over the past 5 years, including a brief review of studies (from 2014 to January 2020) and our team’s experiences in this area.Recent FindingsBased on our experience and the 22 studies we identified in this area, we describe the current trends in telehealth applications used and how interventions were delivered. We also provide recommendations, limitations, and future directions on this topic.SummaryTelehealth offers innovative intervention delivery options by increasing intervention access, overcoming barriers such as geography and costs of service delivery for young children with ASD.