Remote rehabilitation in the times of covid-19: is it possible at distance? Comparision of neurodevelopmental therapist experiences

Abstract

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the international outbreak of new coronavirus infection
as a pandemic, due to the speed and scale of the infection around the world. Italy was one of the first European countries to adopt the restriction measures, progressively stricter and gradually extended to the entire national territory,
with the consequent closure of any activity that is not strictly necessary, including rehabilitation health services. The
provisions for continuing the treatments that cannot be postponed in phase 1 envisaged the use of telerehabilitation as
a fundamental tool for continuing neuropsychomotor therapy. In phase 2 and 3, however, the resumption of rehabilitation activities in the presence required the use of personal protective equipment, such as masks, visors and gloves, and
the use of social distancing measures. However, in neuropsychomotor therapy of the developmental age, the body is
a fundamental part, and the central element, with which the therapist comes into contact with the child, both through
tonicdialogue and through the so-called non-verbal communication, with all its implications.