Facing the real time challenges of the COVID-19 emergency for child neuropsychology service in Milan.
Matilde Taddei, Sara Bulgheroni
PMID 33007533WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders reported high satisfaction with telehealth assessments during the Milan lockdown.
Families appreciated saving travel time and feeling heard, but noted missing empathy compared to in-person visits and connectivity issues.
Key findings
0120 of 28 families completed the satisfaction questionnaire, with highest scores for saving travel time and receiving adequate attention.
02Written feedback themes included gratitude for the service, but also concerns about lack of empathy in video sessions compared to in-person visits and technical connectivity problems.
03Two of 30 contacted families could not participate due to limited access to devices or socioeconomic and linguistic barriers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is a single-site service description, not a controlled trial, so results may not generalize to other settings or disciplines. The satisfaction data comes from a small subset (20 families) of those who participated (28), introducing potential selection bias. The study reports on the process and satisfaction of caregivers, not on the clinical validity or diagnostic accuracy of the telehealth assessments compared to in-person ones. Data collection was ongoing at the time of submission, with only a short window (June 8-22) for satisfaction surveys.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret high caregiver satisfaction as evidence that telehealth is clinically equivalent to in-person assessment for diagnosing neurodevelopmental disorders. This paper reports on the acceptability and feasibility of the service model, not on the diagnostic validity or therapeutic outcomes of the interventions.