Experiences of telehealth-delivered occupational performance coaching among Palestinian mothers of autistic children: a qualitative study

Background

Families of autistic children in Palestine face substantial barriers to sustained, family-centred rehabilitation, including travel demands, fragmented services, financial pressures, digital inequalities, and recurrent movement restrictions. Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC) is a collaborative, occupation-focused approach that supports caregivers to analyse everyday participation challenges, identify priorities, generate contextually relevant strategies, and evaluate change. This study explored how Palestinian mothers experienced an eight-session OPC telecoaching intervention and how they perceived its acceptability, benefits, challenges, and contextual fit.