Using an intensive interdisciplinary telehealth model to treat pediatric feeding disorders
Intensive feeding therapy run by caregivers on Zoom works as well as clinic care and the gains last a year.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Patel and team ran a full feeding program on Zoom. Caregivers, not staff, led every bite.
Kids with feeding disorders got daily coaching from a BCBA, dietitian, and speech pathologist. All sessions happened at home through a screen.
What they found
Children began accepting lots more bites. Problem mealtime behaviors dropped sharply.
One month later the gains held. One year later they still held. No clinic visits were needed.
How this fits with other research
Bloomfield et al. (2021) showed the same thing with one autistic child. Patel adds an intensive team and longer follow-up.
Williams et al. (2023) reviewed the whole feeding field and called for more telehealth trials. This study answers that call.
Hao et al. (2021) compared telehealth to in-person parent training and found no difference. Patel goes further by skipping in-person entirely and still hitting big, lasting gains.
Why it matters
You can launch a full feeding protocol without driving to the family’s house. Train the caregiver once, meet the team online, and keep data in a shared sheet. Start Monday by sending a short Zoom invite instead of a clinic appointment.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The necessity of treatment using telehealth was apparent during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as many practitioners were forced to use telehealth as a primary mode of service delivery. Although the telehealth model has been studied for different populations, little is known about its success when applied with children with feeding disorders and complex medical histories. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using a telehealth model from the onset of treatment. All 5 children who participated engaged in low levels of acceptance and high levels of inappropriate mealtime behavior during baseline. Caregivers were taught to implement the treatment with high integrity using behavioral skills training. Procedural integrity increased posttraining, and as a result acceptance increased and inappropriate mealtime behavior decreased. Treatment gains maintained during follow up at 1 month and 1 year. These data are discussed in relation to alternative ways of providing treatment in locations where intensive feeding programs are not available.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2023 · doi:10.1002/jaba.976