Internet-based intervention training for parents of young children with disabilities: a promising service-delivery model

Abstract

Efficient early intervention (EI) services are required to serve the needs of young children with disabilities and the needs of their families. Effective EI includes family-centred practices, evidence-based interventions, parent involvement/training, and delivery in children's natural environments. Due to the challenges of providing home-based EI for children with disabilities, there is a need to identify alternative service models. One possible alternative service-delivery model is training and coaching parents from a distance, via Internet technologies. The purposes of this paper are to (a) describe the challenges related to home-based EI services, (b) discuss the potential advantages of using Internet-based interventions as a supplemental service model, and (c) describe current Internet-based interventions by reviewing the literature related to training parents of young children with autism, from a distance via the Internet.