Families' Experiences in the Virtual Hanen More Than Words Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic required most pediatric rehabilitation programs to shift to a virtual delivery format without the benefits of evidence to support this transition. Our study explored families' experiences participating virtually in More Than Words, a program for parents of autistic children, with the goal of generating new evidence to inform both virtual service delivery and program development. METHOD: Twenty-one families who recently completed a virtual More Than Words program participated in a semistructured interview. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed in NVivo using a top-down deductive approach that referenced a modified Dynamic Knowledge Transfer Capacity model. RESULTS: Six themes capturing families' experiences with different components of virtual service delivery were identified: (a) experiences participating from home, (b) accessing the More Than Words program, (c) delivery methods and program materials, (d) the speech-language pathologist-caregiver relationship, (e) new skills learned, and (f) virtual program engagement. CONCLUSIONS: Most participants had a positive experience in the virtual program. Suggested areas for improvement included the time and length of intervention sessions and increasing social connections with other families. Practice considerations related to the importance of childcare during group sessions and having another adult to support the videorecording of parent-child interactions. Clinical implications include suggestions for how clinicians can create a positive virtual experience for families. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22177601.

A scoping review of virtual synchronous intervention studies in preschool rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: To summarize the available evidence for the delivery of synchronous virtual rehabilitation intervention services for preschoolers and to identify key factors associated with virtual intervention. METHODS: Five databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed articles that assessed virtual interventions for preschoolers delivered by rehabilitation health professionals including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and their associated assistants. Relevant data regarding demographics, technology, mode of service delivery, timing, engagement, and measurement data were extracted, and charted. Data were then summarized quantitatively using frequency counts, and qualitatively using descriptive summaries. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were identified. Virtual interventions primarily targeted language difficulties or disorders, therefore most services were delivered by a speech-language pathologist or audiologist. Most interventions were delivered using Skype or Zoom on a weekly basis. Various technological features (e.g., phonology software, 'e-helpers') were included, and multiple activities (e.g., playdough, bubbles) and strategies were used to support engagement. CONCLUSION: This scoping review provides current knowledge about the delivery of virtual rehabilitation interventions for preschoolers to help guide best practices for clinicians. Future research could assess the validity of existing outcome measures in the virtual environment, and outline optimal session length and frequency for virtual preschool interventions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for effective, evidence-based virtual interventions.This study summarizes the available literature to support preschool rehabilitation clinicians in making decisions about virtual interventions.Data presented can inform clinical decisions about technology to use, session length and frequency for various disorders, and activities used to engage preschoolers in the virtual environment.

Intervention Goals for Preschoolers With Language Difficulties and Disorders: A Scoping Review Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Framework.

PURPOSE: The primary aim of this scoping review was to categorize language therapy goals reported in intervention studies for preschoolers (i.e., children from birth to 5;0 [years;months]) with language difficulties and disorders within the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. A secondary aim was to determine whether different therapy goals were reported for two language difficulty/disorder subtypes (i.e., comparing language difficulty/disorder associated with a biomedical condition to those without an associated biomedical condition). METHOD: The scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley (2005) guidelines. Articles were retrieved from speechBITE, with age (under 5 years), intervention area (language), and study design (all but systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines) specified as inclusion criteria. Language goals were extracted and categorized into the ICF components, and the distribution of goals across ICF components was compared for studies involving children with the two language difficulty/disorder subtypes. RESULTS: A total of 287 articles were identified; 140 met inclusion criteria. Of the 293 goals extracted, 48% aligned with the activities component of the ICF framework, followed by participation (26%), environmental factors (20%), body functions and structures (3%), and personal factors (3%). Most participation-focused goals were reported from intervention studies involving preschoolers with a language difficulty/disorder associated with a biomedical condition. CONCLUSIONS: Few participation-focused goals were reported in intervention studies for preschoolers with language difficulty/disorder without an associated condition. Future work is needed to support integrating the ICF framework in goal setting for both research and practice.