“This Is Going To Be Different, But It’s Not Impossible”: Adapting To Telehealth Occupational Therapy For Autistic Children

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Angell, A., Taylor, E., Akrofi, J. N. S., Carreon, E. D., Franklin, M. D., Miller, J., Crowley, C., & Maher, S. (2024). “This Is Going To Be Different, But It’s Not Impossible”: Adapting To Telehealth Occupational Therapy For Autistic Children. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 16(1), e6608-e6608. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2024.6608

Publication date: 28 Jun 2024 Added to AutiHub: 30 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)
  1. Amber Angell
  2. Elinor Taylor *
  3. Joana Nana Serwaa Akrofi
  4. Elaine D. Carreon
  1. Marshae D. Franklin
  2. Julie Miller
  3. Catherine Crowley
  4. Shona Maher

Abstract

This qualitative study examined participants’ experiences of transitioning to telehealth-delivered pediatric occupational therapy for autistic children during the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed three clinic administrators, four occupational therapists, and six parents of autistic children (n=13) from three Los Angeles area clinics over a 7-month period. Our narrative and thematic analyses yielded three overarching themes: Transformative Experiences, Reimagining Therapy, and Going Forward. Overall, we found that the transition to telehealth shifted participants’ preconceptions about themselves, their relationships, and the nature of occupational therapy. Many deepened their relationships; adapted interventions; uncovered surprising capabilities; and challenged the occupational therapy status quo to advocate for ongoing virtual delivery. Our findings bear relevance to the body of current literature debating the post-pandemic viability of telehealth-delivered occupational therapy.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 01:01.

Cited references
21
With a DOI
19
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
2 / 21 (9.5%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 21 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
21 / 21 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
70
From DOI or external metadata
70
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
17 / 70 (24.3%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 53 / 70 (75.7%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
2 / 70 (2.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 2 / 17 (11.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 62 (1.6%).
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    OpenAlex
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    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  10. Lauren M. Little , Ellen Pope , Anna Wallisch , Winnie Dunn (2018). Occupation-Based Coaching by Means of Telehealth for Families of Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder . American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(2), 188-195. SAGE Publications.
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    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  12. Lauren M. Little , Anna Wallisch , Ellen Pope , Winnie Dunn (2018). Acceptability and Cost Comparison of a Telehealth Intervention for Families of Children With Autism . Infants & Young Children, 31(4), 275-286. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health).
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