Transitioning to Telemedicine During COVID-19: Impact on Perceptions and Use of Telemedicine Procedures for the Diagnosis of Autism in Toddlers.
Liliana Wagner, Amy S Weitlauf, Jeffrey Hine and 6 others
PMID 34085153WHAT IT FOUND
Providers who used the TELE-ASD-PEDS tool during the pandemic reported it was helpful for guiding decisions.
It was most useful for ruling out autism, with high certainty and few referrals for further testing. However, technology glitches and home distractions remained major barriers.
Key findings
01The use of tele-assessment for diagnosing autism in toddlers rose significantly during the pandemic, from 6% of providers before to 78% during.
02The TELE-ASD-PEDS tool helped clinicians distinguish between children with and without autism, with those diagnosed showing higher scores and those ruled out showing lower scores.
03Providers reported the highest diagnostic certainty when ruling out autism, recommending further in-person testing for only 24% of children in this group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was not a planned research trial; the tool was still in development and materials were not finalized. The survey had a low response rate (8.4%), and providers who self-selected to share clinical data likely had more positive experiences, introducing bias. There was no comparison group of children assessed in-person, so the accuracy of the remote diagnoses cannot be confirmed against a gold standard. The sample was limited to providers who attended specific webinars, which may not represent the broader community of clinicians. Long-term outcomes for families, such as whether they accessed services at the same rate as in-person diagnoses, were not measured.
Declared interests
The authors declared no specific conflicts of interest in the provided text, but noted that the tool was developed by their institution and distributed via no-cost webinars.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this study proves that tele-assessment is as accurate as in-person diagnosis. It lacks a control group and relies on provider self-reports and a tool still in development. The high certainty in ruling out autism should not be taken as evidence that remote assessment is equally reliable for confirming a diagnosis, especially for subtle or complex cases where technology barriers hindered observation.