Zoom in screen with simultaneous prompting to teach young children with autism

Telehealth is a broad term that describes the use of communication technologies to deliver diagnoses and educational services. Recent guidelines for practicing telehealth indicate that interventions directly delivered to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) via telehealth may be appropriate and effective. However, as few studies have directly delivered interventions to individuals diagnosed with a disability via telehealth, more research is needed. This study examined the effects of telehealth-delivered simultaneous prompting combined with observational learning in young children with ASD. Two children aged 5 years who were diagnosed with ASD participated in this study. The students and implementers were located in different physical settings. A multiple-probe design across behaviors replicated across participants was used to examine the effects of the procedure. The students acquired the target and observational responses. Importantly, both students maintained the acquired responses one, two, and six weeks after the intervention and generalized them across different conditions. The students’ teachers had positive opinions regarding the procedures and outcomes. The findings of this single-subject study have important implications for delivering interventions directly to young children with ASD via telehealth. The study’s limitations and implications for future research are also discussed.