ERIC Number: EJ922000
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Apr
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0046-9157
EISSN: N/A
Telehealth: Families Finding Ways to Connect in Rural Colorado
Kaiser, Kristen
Exceptional Parent, v41 n4 p18-19 Apr 2011
JFK Partners, at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, is currently implementing a study on the use of telehealth (receiving treatment or services using videoconferencing technology, such as Skype) and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety. The study is an exploratory grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that examines the feasibility of providing an evidence-based anxiety treatment program to youth with ASD and co-occurring anxiety and their families in rural communities through online, video-conferencing technology. This study illuminates a vitally important problem families are struggling with in Colorado: a lack of funding for resources in all areas of support for their children with ASD. With this underserved population in mind, a research team, lead by Principal Investigator Dr. Susan Hepburn, has been modifying an anxiety treatment program for delivery over the internet that helps families develop coping strategies for phobias and anxiety for their children with ASD. This type of intervention can then be delivered to families in rural areas of Colorado where there is virtually no access to expertise, and travel for treatment is prohibitive. The goal is to understand the feasibility of providing treatment to a family through sessions online that include one-to-one family and clinician time, small groups of parents with a clinician, and a website that contains educational modules. A benefit to this delivery directly into the home is that many of the children with anxiety are able to interact from their homes, in increments that work for them, rather than traveling to an unknown therapy site and interacting with a group that they don't know. Another component of this study, and one of great importance to the funder and study team, is outreach to the families of children with ASD. This outreach includes educational and training opportunities for parents, school staff and youth in these rural communities.
Descriptors: Medical Schools, Autism, Coping, Rural Areas, Anxiety, Video Technology, Computer Mediated Communication, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Grants, Family Programs, Financial Support, Counseling Techniques, Intervention, Access to Health Care, Web Sites, Group Activities, Outreach Programs, Parent Participation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colorado
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A