Havenga, EstienneSwanepoel, De WetLe Roux, TalitaSchmid, Brenda2017-02-082017-02-082017-01Havenga, E, Swanepoel, DW, Le Roux, T & Schmid, B 2017, 'Tele-intervention for children with hearing loss : a comparative pilot study', Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 116–125.1357-633X (print)1758-1109 (online)10.1177/1357633X15617886http://hdl.handle.net/2263/58918INTRODUCTION : This pilot study compared tele-intervention to conventional intervention for children with hearing loss in terms of communication performance, parental perceptions and clinician perceptions. METHODS : A within-subject design was employed, including 10 children with hearing loss and their parents who each received a structurally similar tele-intervention and conventional intervention session in a counterbalanced manner. Quality of communication performance was analysed using a modified Tait video analysis method. Parent and clinician perceptions were collected through rating-scale surveys and thematic analysis of qualitative responses. RESULTS : No significant difference (p > 0.05) was found between tele-intervention and conventional intervention in terms of communication performance of children. Parent perceptions were not significantly different (p > 0.05) between conventional and tele-intervention in terms of facilitating meaningful communication interaction. Significant differences were evident for parents’ comfort level during the session, whether they found it to be a beneficial experience and whether they would like to continue receiving intervention through this method. Clinician perceptions of conventional and tele-intervention were not significantly different (p > 0.05) and tele-intervention was deemed a valuable method of service delivery for clients. DISCUSSION : This study provides preliminary evidence that teleintervention is effective for communication intervention and can be a valuable solution to typical barriers such as distance and the shortage of trained interventionists.en© The Author(s) 2015Tele-interventionTele-rehabilitationChildren with hearing lossClinical outcomesCommunication performanceParent perceptionsClinician perceptionsPostprint Article