Evaluation of parents' experiences of PACT Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of parents' experiences of participating in Pre-School Autism Communication Therapy (PACT)
IRAS ID
145311
Contact name
Emily Bloxham
Contact email
Research summary
Pre-School Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) is an intervention aimed at improving social communication abilities in children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and related social communication impairments, at either pre-verbal or early stages of language development (Aldred et al., 2011). Its principles draw on interventions for children with developmental language delays (Fey, Catts & Larivee's, 1995; as cited in Aldred et al., 2011).
PACT is a parent-mediated and video-aided intervention which targets core impairments in understanding, intentional communication and shared attention (Tomasello, 1995; as cited in Aldred et al., 2011). The rationale for PACT is based on research evidence suggesting that children with ASD require an interactive style that is specifically matched to their individual level of social communication (Yoder & Warren, 2001); the intervention thus focuses on changing the interaction of the parent-child dyad in order to improve child communication.
Green et al. (2010) suggest that parent-mediated interventions may be particularly efficacious in improving parents' perceptions and sensitivity to their child's communication needs, and that this effect may potentially generalise to benefit the child's family environment and thus generate cumulative effects in the child's development.
The main purpose of the present study is to explore the experiences of parents who received PACT sessions. Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with parents who have completed PACT sessions, and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA; Smith Flowers & Larkin, 2009) will be used to analyse the transcripts for themes.
A secondary aim of the current study is to consider how outcomes from randomised controlled trials are brought into clinical practice, where interventions are delivered within the constraints of what local services can provide. This will be assessed by analysing quantitative data collected from parents at pre-and post-intervention, and coding and analysing video clips of parent-child interactions in PACT sessions at pre-and post-intervention.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
14/WA/1041
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion