Provider Perspectives on Telepractice for Serving Families of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Authors

  • Diane D. Behl National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, Utah State University
  • Gary Kahn Healthbridge, llc Co-Investigator TACIT Assistant Clinical Professor Department of Biostatistics and Informatics Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Denver

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2015.6170

Abstract

Telepractice to deliver remote Part C early intervention (EI) services to families in their home is a rapidly-growing strategy under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to meet the needs of infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing. A survey was completed within a “learning community” comprised of staff from EI programs that were implementing telepractice to learn about their specific implementation strategies and challenges they faced. Twenty-seven individuals representing 11 programs responded. The results showed great variability in hardware and software, with many raising concerns regarding security. Primary challenges reported were internet connectivity and training in skills required to deliver telepractice services. The findings from this survey were valuable in guiding future areas of investigation for the learning community and ultimately improving telepractice in the field.

 

  

References

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Telepractice: Overview. Retrieved from: http://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Professional-Issues/Telepractice/

Behl, D., Houston, K.T., Guthrie, W.S., & Guthrie, N.K. (2010). Tele-intervention: The wave of the future fits families’ lives today. Exceptional Parent, 40(12), 23-28.

Behl, D., Houston, K.T., & Stredler-Brown, A. (2012). The value of a learning community to support telepractice for infants and toddlers with hearing loss. Volta Review, 112(3), 313-327.

Blaiser, K., Behl, D., Callow-Heusser, C., & White, K. (2013). Measuring costs and outcomes of tele-intervention when serving families of children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 5(2), 3-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2013.6129

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Stredler-Brown, A. (Ed.) (2012). Preface. Current knowledge and best practices for telepractice, Volta Review, 112(3), 191-193.

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Published

2015-07-29

How to Cite

Behl, D. D., & Kahn, G. (2015). Provider Perspectives on Telepractice for Serving Families of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 7(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2015.6170

Issue

Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 2015

Section

Research

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