Early Intervention and Telehealth: A Conversation with Melanie Batista, OTR/L
I spoke with Melanie Batista, OTR/L, the founder of Growing Little Brains LLC, about supporting play through telehealth. Our conversation shed light on the transformative impact of telehealth in early childhood intervention, emphasizing the importance of empowering families and building play around a child’s interests.
Telehealth as a Complement to Parent Coaching in Early Intervention
Our conversation also delved into the role of telehealth as a complement to parent coaching. By involving parents in therapy, effective communication and problem-solving are facilitated, leading to a seamless transition of responsibility from the therapist to the parents.
Melanie highlighted, “I like to emphasize to the parent that they’re the expert of their child. I’m just bringing my knowledge, but they know their child.”
Facilitating Play-Based Telehealth
Melanie stressed the relevance of play-based telehealth by understanding the family’s strengths, interests, and the child’s sensory system. By integrating individualized and intrinsically motivated play activities tailored to the family’s unique ways of play, effective and engaging interventions can be achieved. She noted, “Play doesn’t have to be with toys. It can be with anything. It’s really about the engagement and the interactions you’re having with the child.”
Addressing Challenges and Utilizing Assessments
We delved into the challenges of remote treatment for young children and the adaptability of older children to teletherapy due to their familiarity with screens. Melanie also highlighted the convenience of using standardized assessments in online settings, such as the sensory processing measure and sensory profile, to save time and effort.
Melanie shared, “I found that using standardized assessments in teletherapy was actually really convenient. I could email it to the parent, and then it would generate an automated report for me.”
Importance of Routine-Based Intervention and Family Integration
Melanie shared a heartfelt story about her journey as a parent, navigating her son’s challenges with balance issues. Reflecting on her struggles to integrate exercises recommended by the physical therapist, she realized the significance of embedding strategies into their daily routine. This experience highlighted the importance of understanding a family’s daily life and the need to incorporate interventions into their natural activities for better results.
She emphasized, “It’s really important for therapists to understand a family’s culture, their daily routines, and their priorities because that’s what’s going to make a difference when we’re providing intervention.”
Empowering Families through Early Intervention
The heart of our conversation revolved around empowering caregivers to understand and support their children, paving the way for remarkable moments when families no longer require occupational therapy services.”The goal is to empower caregivers, so they really know how to support their child. And when they don’t need us anymore, that’s our biggest celebration.”
In summary, the insights shared by Melanie Batista underscore the transformative potential of telehealth in early childhood intervention. By prioritizing family integration, routine-based intervention, and play-based therapy, the impact of occupational therapy can be maximized to enrich the lives of both children and their caregivers.