Early Intervention Providers' Perspectives on the Use of Telepractice During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated an abrupt transition to telepractice for many early intervention (EI) service providers; often, they had little previous experience with remote service provision. This study was designed to investigate their experiences with telepractice. Method: This qualitative study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to evaluate semistructured phone interviews with eight Illinois EI providers, recruited through EI agencies, social media, and word of mouth. In their interviews, they described the challenges and benefits of the transition to telepractice in 2020–2021. Results: These participants described a difficult adjustment period due to the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of technological and interpersonal challenges. After this adjustment, they found telepractice offered a surprising and welcome degree of flexibility and spurred them to place new emphasis on caregiver coaching. Conclusions: Telepractice presents unique challenges and offers unique benefits to EI service providers due to the age of their clients and their emphasis on caregiver coaching. Clinical implications are discussed.