Assessment Fidelity of Parents Implementing a Standardized Telehealth Infant Autism Screener.
Allison Q Phillips, Emily Campi, Meagan R Talbott and 1 others
PMID 37089013WHAT IT FOUND
Parents coached via telehealth administered an infant autism screener with 82% fidelity.
While lower than trained in-person examiners, this level was acceptable. Structured items were performed better than unstructured ones. Clinicians should use clear scripts and video demos to support parents.
Key findings
01Parents achieved an average assessment fidelity of 82% when administering the AOSI via telehealth coaching.
02Fidelity was highest for structured items and lowest for unstructured free-play indicators, such as the order of toy presentation.
03The study lacked a direct comparison group for in-person administration, relying instead on existing literature for benchmarks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study lacked a direct comparison group of infants assessed in person, so the difference in fidelity between telehealth and in-person contexts is inferred from other studies. The fidelity checklist was newly created for this study and has not been validated elsewhere. The sample was small (28 families) and recruited primarily from California, limiting generalizability. The study measured fidelity of administration, not the diagnostic accuracy or clinical validity of the AOSI scores obtained via this method.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that 82% fidelity means the resulting autism scores are equally valid as those from trained clinicians. The study measured how well parents followed the steps, not whether the scores correctly identified autism compared to an in-person gold standard.