Investigating the efficacy of tele-occupational therapy for ADHD children during COVID-19: a clinical sample in Qatar

Objectives To study the effectiveness of tele-occupational therapy (tele-OT) interventions for children with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to assess parental satisfaction with tele-occupational therapy for their children. Methods This is an open prospective cohort study using a clinical convenience sample of twenty children aged 7–15 years old. All children have a known diagnosis of ADHD and are following occupational therapy services at the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) outpatient clinic at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Doha (Qatar). They underwent tele-occupational therapy two sessions per week for 3 months via telephone and/or virtual sessions. The NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale was used to assess ADHD symptoms and performance pre- and post-intervention. Parents completed a satisfaction survey at the end of the intervention. Results A significant reduction in total ADHD symptoms was observed post-therapy ( Z = − 3.932, p < 0.001), with mean scores decreasing from 29.45 (SD = 6.747) to 24.70 (SD = 5.814). There also was a statistically significant difference between pre-tele-occupational therapy and post-tele-occupational therapy average performance scores, decreasing from 2.75 (SD = 0.492) to 2.62 (SD = 0.530) ( Z = − 2.347, p = 0.019). Most parents were very satisfied with their experience of the tele-OT service. Conclusions This study shows that tele-OT interventions can be an effective approach as part of the management of ADHD in children and that parents overall were satisfied with this approach.