Nisha and Shayan Thakkar
With the rapid changes brought about by COVID-19, there has been a significant shift in the way our community now access health services. The CliniKids team, led by Professor Andrew Whitehouse, has reimagined how allied health services for children with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delays are delivered.
Like many service providers, CliniKids typically offers face-to-face appointments at its Subiaco-based clinic. Unable to maintain these thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, team members have instead moved to provide speech therapy, occupational therapy and clinical psychology services online, holding innovative telehealth sessions with children and their carers that are as close to the real thing as possible.
“Our primary aim has been to ensure the wellbeing of families and our staff, whilst providing continuity of our services,” says Clinical Services Manager, Katia Haines.
“Our team understand that unpredictable times like these can be overwhelming for children, particularly when their routines are impacted. We are committed to providing the community with access to the best possible supports and offering clinical interventions via telehealth has made this possible.”
For Nisha and her four-year old son Shayan, who has been receiving speech and occupational therapy services at CliniKids for more than a year, the transition from face-to-face appointments to telehealth sessions has been seamless.
“Shayan has been able to continue his weekly appointments with his therapists, who have offered us support and some really helpful resources for at home,” Nisha says. “Shayan responds well to visual rewards and our clinicians have been so creative, providing interactive rewards on the screen during our online sessions. It’s been amazing to see him respond so well.”
Katia says reports from families utilising the service have been overwhelmingly positive.
“We are so pleased that Telehealth has been effective for our existing families and excited to now be able to offer children located in remote and regional areas access to the very best evidence-based interventions as a result,” she says.
If you would like more information about CliniKids, please call 6319 1133 or visit clinikids.org.au.
