Author: Jessica Pinto| February 20, 2021
TELE-ASD-PEDS: An online assessment tool for the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
As we rang in the year 2020 with great cheer and fervour, none of us knew the tumultuous times that lay ahead. In the 3rd month of the year, as the Coronavirus spread rapidly through the world, destroying lives and ravaging economies, the greatest hit for us at Sethu was the clampdown on ‘non-essential’ services. Since Sethu does not deal with acutely sick children, we had no choice but to close the centre. The team knew that cessation of services was not an option, our children need us. The services provided by Sethu are truly essential, in every sense of the word for the families who utilise them.
Hence, the team went into a rapid scramble to roll out their services on online platforms as quickly as possible, while navigating the bumps along the way and brainstorming solutions to every problem that presented itself. Today, after 9 months of online services, we are proud to say that the shift has been extremely well accepted by both parents and providers and is extremely beneficial to all.
One of the main problems faced by the team during the lockdown was in the diagnosis of neurodiversity. ‘How do we diagnose a child with Autism without actually meeting him or her?’ This was the question on everyone’s mind. As we researched and reached out to others in the field, we came across the TELE-ASD-PEDS, an online assessment tool for the diagnosis of children with ASD. This gem of a tool has stood us in good stead through the most difficult of the ‘COVID’ times for the Sethu team and I’d like to talk a little more about it here:
The TELE-ASD-PEDS has been designed by a team of leading paediatricians and psychologists at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Centre (V.K.C) in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. It is designed as a structured tele-assessment tool for the diagnosis of ASD. The initial concept behind the design was to help families in remote places to access assessment services easily and to reduce the burden on the healthcare system by reducing wait periods for appointments. With the onset of the pandemic and the unprecedented changes that it brought; the tool found a new application in V.K.C, Nashville, as it did on the other side of the world here at Sethu in Goa.
It is designed to be used for children aged between 1 to 3 years of age who present with speech delay and other behaviours that are suggestive of ASD. The assessment takes place through a video call within the home of the child. The examiner observes the child as they play and interacts with the caregiver instructing the caregiver to provide specific responses and carry out simple activities with the child over a period of 30 to 40 mins. The remaining part of the session is dedicated to the provider and parent talking about the observations made, diagnosis and further steps of intervention. The TELE-ASD-PEDS aims to observe the child’s behaviour, social interaction, and manner of communication to identify the core features of ASD.
One of the main advantages of the online assessment is that it can be carried out from the comfort of home, hence, avoiding long-distance travel, expense and exposure to infection and the child is in their comfort zone. Children are observed in an environment they are familiar with while interacting with their caregiver. This setting provides a wealth of information to the examiner in the assessment of the child’s usual behaviour and is a setting that cannot be replicated within the centre. It ensures the comfort of the child, as it removes the anxiety associated with visiting a new place and meeting unfamiliar people. It avoids significant disruption to the child’s schedule, while also ensuring that parents do not have to make major changes to their daily routine.
The TELE-ASD-PEDS has helped Sethu become more accessible to families and children all over India and the world as parents desperately seek help for their child’s difficulties. An early diagnosis goes a long way in ensuring that children receive the specific intervention required for them to reach their full potential.
Our special thanks to Dr Lilliana Wagner and the team at V.K.C, Nashville who have given us the necessary permission to use the TELE-ASD-PEDS at Sethu.
If you have concerns about your child’s speech, communication or behaviour, call the reception at Sethu for more information on online assessment and the TELE-ASD-PEDS.
For more information on TELE-ASD-PEDS visit: https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/triad/tele-asd-peds.
Reference: https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/triad/tele-asd-peds.
JESSICA PINTO
Fellow-Pediatrician