The Use of Telehealth in Early Intervention for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: A Scoping Review
This scoping review was aimed to identify the extent and range of the existing literature on the use of telehealth early intervention for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Methods. The data sources include Medline (PubMed), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and PsycINFO along with reference lists of relevant reviews and involved articles. Study eligibility criteria were studies that assess the use of telehealth for implementation of assessments and/or early interventions for children aged 0–6 years with diagnosis of all types of neurodevelopmental disabilities. Narrative synthesis and tables of results of telehealth studies were developed.
Results. The services delivered included diagnostic assessment for autism spectrum disorder, speech and language screening, educational training, guidance, and supervision in the implementing interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder, behaviour problems, speech and language delays, hearing problems, preterm, developmental problems, and cerebral palsy.
Conclusions. Telehealth has a potential for autism spectrum disorder, speech, and language impairments identification. Also, telehealth is a promising model to deliver behaviour, communication, and speech and hearing targeted interventions. There is a lack of studies on using telehealth in early interventions for children with other types of neurodevelopmental disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy).
Correspondence to A. Navickaitė Lithuanian University of Health Scienes, Eivenių 4, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: aisnavic@gmail.com