Continuity of Early Intervention Services in New York City During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

  • Stella Kasamba Bureau of Early Intervention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA
  • Katharine H. McVeigh Bureau of Early Intervention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA
  • Aurora Moraes Bureau of Early Intervention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA
  • Ying Huang Bureau of Early Intervention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA
  • Nora Puffett Bureau of Early Intervention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA
  • Lidiya Lednyak Bureau of Early Intervention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2023.6553

Keywords:

Children with disabilities, COVID-19, Early intervention services, Health services research, Teletherapy

Abstract

In response to COVID-19, the New York City Early Intervention (EI) Program rapidly transitioned from in-person to teletherapy services.  We describe the timing of service resumption among children who received EI services between March 1 and March 17, 2020. The proportion of children who transitioned to teletherapy-only was 25% as of March 24, rising to 78% by July 6. By December 31, 2020, 87% of the cohort had resumed either teletherapy or in-person services. Child age, race, language, and neighborhood poverty all predicted service resumption timing. Children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder were more likely to transition to teletherapy, and children with only 1-2 domains of delay were more likely to discontinue services altogether. Continuity of EI services during the COVID-19 public health emergency was a critical priority. Timely policy changes facilitated swift return to services and avoided exacerbation of the long-standing racial disparities in access to EI services.

  

References

Cason J. (2009). A pilot telerehabilitation program: Delivering early intervention services to rural families. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 1(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2009.6007

Cason J. (2011). Telerehabilitation: An adjunct service delivery model for early intervention services. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 3(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2011.6071

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). What is “early intervention?” https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/states.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline. https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html

Cole, B., Pickard, K., & Stredler-Brown, A. (2019). Report on the use of telehealth in early intervention in Colorado: Strengths and challenges with telehealth as a service delivery method. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 11(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2019.6273

Deoni, S. C., Beauchemin, J., Volpe, A., Dâ Sa, V., & RESONANCE Consortium (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic and early child cognitive development: A comparison of development in children born during the pandemic and historical references. medRxiv: The Preprint Server for Health Sciences, 2021.08.10.21261846. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.10.21261846

Eberly, L. A., Kallan, M. J., Julien, H. M., Haynes, N., Khatana, S. A. M., Nathan, A. S., Snider, C., Chokshi, N. P., Eneanya, N. D., Takvorian, S. U., Anastos-Wallen, R., Chaiyachati, K., Ambrose, M., O'Quinn, R., Seigerman, M., Goldberg, L. R., Leri, D., Choi, K., Gitelman, Y., Kolansky, D. M., … Adusumalli, S. (2020). Patient characteristics associated with telemedicine access for primary and specialty ambulatory care during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Network Open, 3(12), e2031640. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.31640

Egan, S. M., Pope, J., Moloney, M., Hoyne, C., & Beatty, C. (2021). Missing early education and care during the pandemic: The socio-emotional impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(5), 925–934. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01193-2

Ellison, K. S., Guidry, J., Picou, P., Adenuga, P., & Davis, T. E. (2021). Telehealth and autism prior to and in the age of COVID-19: A systematic and critical review of the last decade. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 24(3), 599–630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-021-00358-0

Klintwall, L., Eldevik, S., & Eikeseth, S. (2015). Narrowing the gap: Effects of intervention on developmental trajectories in autism. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 19(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313510067

Little, L. M., Wallisch, A., Pope, E., & Dunn, W. (2018). Acceptability and cost comparison of a telehealth intervention for families of children with autism. Infants & Young Children, 31(4), 275-286. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000126

Litt, J. S., Glymour, M. M., Hauser-Cram, P., Hehir, T., & McCormick, M. C. (2018). Early intervention services improve school-age functional outcome among neonatal intensive care unit graduates. Academic Pediatrics, 18(4), 468–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2017.07.011

New York State Department of Health. (2020, April 1). New York State Department of Health Bureau of Early Intervention Guidance to Early Intervention Providers Regarding Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). https://www.health.ny.gov/community/infants_children/early_intervention/docs/doh_covid19_eiproviders_04.01.20

Payán, D. D., Frehn, J. L., Garcia, L., Tierney, A. A., & Rodriguez, H. P. (2022). Telemedicine implementation and use in community health centers during COVID-19: Clinic personnel and patient perspectives. SSM. Qualitative Research in Health, 2, 100054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100054

Pickard, K. E., Wainer, A. L., Bailey, K. M., & Ingersoll, B. R. (2016). A mixed-method evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth-based parent-mediated intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 20(7), 845–855. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315614496

The Nation’s Report Card. (2022). NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and mathematics. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ltt/2022/

The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. (2011, July). The importance of early intervention for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. https://ectacenter.org/~pdfs/pubs/importanceofearlyintervention.pdf

Sutherland, R., Trembath, D., Hodge, M. A., Rose, V., & Roberts, J. (2019). Telehealth and autism: Are telehealth language assessments reliable and feasible for children with autism? International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 54(2), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12440

Downloads

Published

2023-05-11

How to Cite

Kasamba, S., McVeigh, K. H., Moraes, A., Huang, Y., Puffett, N., & Lednyak, L. (2023). Continuity of Early Intervention Services in New York City During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2023.6553

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Early Intervention

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Stella Kasamba, Katharine H. McVeigh, Aurora Moraes, Ying Huang, Nora Puffett, Lidiya Lednyak

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.