Practitioners’ Self-Assessment of Family-Centered Practice in Telepractice Versus In-Person Early Intervention

Abstract

Abstract For infants and young children who are identified as deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), best practice principles indicate the provision of family-centered early intervention (FCEI). However, factors such as geographical inaccessibility and workforce shortages can limit families’ access to FCEI in their local area. One strategy for overcoming these barriers is telepractice—a method of connecting families and practitioners using synchronous, two-way audiovisual technologies. This study compared the self-assessed use of family-centered practices by a group of practitioners delivering FCEI through telepractice with that of a similar group delivering FCEI in-person. A sample of 38 practitioners (15 telepractice and 23 in-person) from two early intervention programs for children who are DHH completed a self-assessment tool: the Measures of Processes of Care for Service Providers. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between telepractice and in-person sessions with regard to practitioners’ self-assessment of their use of family-centered practices.