Perspectives of Parents on Face to Face and Tele Therapy

Abstract

The mode of service delivery has undergone a revolutionary change post COVID-19. Tele therapy has gained wide recognition during this era. Tele therapy has several advantages over face-to-face therapy as constraints related to distance is minimized and even the cost of therapy is also minimal in this mode of service delivery. However, tele therapy has its own challenges when it comes to children with developmental disorder. The onus is expected to be more on parents of these children. Hence there is a mixed opinion from parents in regard to tele therapy. The study was carried with the aim of understanding the perspective of parents regarding tele therapy and face to face therapy. 18-question survey was developed and distributed electronically to the parents of children with communication disorders who attended offline therapy and shifted to online therapy post pandemic. The number of respondents was 50. The responses from the participants was analyzed through a descriptive approach. The raw responses for each question were converted into percentage values to understand the trend of responses. The results showed that the parents were facing constraints because of technical problems. The findings indicate that parents are highly satisfied with face-to face therapy approach compared to online services. Hence suggestions and recommendations need to be incorporated to improve the online therapy service.