1 research outputs found
Designing a parent-driven coaching system for indirect speech therapy
Ph. D. ThesisBased on UK Department of Education annual report 2017, seven percent of preschool
children experience speech and language developmental delays. The report goes on to argue
that these delays negatively impact success at school. Such delays are more common amongst
children with cerebral palsy or autism. Early intervention therapy is recognised as being vital
in minimising the long-term impact of such delays and the responsibilities for delivering such
therapies most often lies with parents or primary carers. Therapists typically support parents
by providing speech and language therapy sessions. The primary goal of these sessions are; to
teach the parents techniques to promote the children’s communication skills, identify
communication opportunities, and adopt and adapt learned communication strategies in their
everyday interactions with the children in their natural environment. While parent-delivered
therapies can alleviate the demand on therapists and healthcare services by reducing the
amount of professional contact time, they can also create an overwhelming burden on parents.
This thesis is an in-depth exploration of early speech therapy programs and identifies the
values and support needs that can used to understand the parents’ and therapists’ experiences
as well as identify indictors to improve therapy adoption in this context. Additionally, this
research investigates the role of coaching technology in improving communication and
collaboration between parents. New parent-driven coaching technologies to support
reflections on home practices and address the challenges of home therapy delivery is also
presented. A case study approach is undertaken to explore this area with two different clinical
partners and therapy protocols. Each study commences with a contextual investigation and
moves toward co-design and evaluation of digital solutions with therapists and parents. The
first case study, eSALT, presents the design of KeepCam, a parent-led selective data capture
and sharing tool to support parents of children with cerebral palsy. The second case study
presents the design of ePACT, a self-reflection tool to support parents of children with autism.
This thesis reports on how mobile video coaching tools can be used as an external drive for
continuous engagement with therapy programs and facilitate social support. It also identifies
opportunities for technology to play important roles in supporting early therapy programs.
The thesis draws upon these case studies to inform the design of a responsive model of
support for indirect therapies, through which the role of design and power relations in
healthcare are explored.Saudi Ministry
of Education, King Saud Universit