Tele Therapy Sessions for Children with Neuro-Developmental Disorders: Parent’s and Therapist’s Perspective

Lockdown during Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on children with Neurodevelopment Disorders and their caregivers. We surveyed 100 parents of children (age 2–18 years) cross-sectionally, who were receiving therapies from our institution and found that almost two-third of parents experienced disruption in service availability for their children due to lockdown. They received tele therapies (Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and behavior therapy) via telehealth program including video/audio calls. Most parents and therapy providers reported it to be beneficial in terms of parents convenience, safety from infection, better parent–child bonding and understanding. Although, some limitations like network and technical issues were also reported, tele therapy services could benefit many parents in managing their children at home during Covid-19 pandemic. Further improvisations in implementation and delivery system of tele therapy services are needed for running smooth sessions. Further studies are needed to assess the usefulness of tele services beyond pandemic.