What is PACT?
PACT stands for Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy – but it’s not a program exclusively for autistic children. Children aged 18 months to 11 years with communication or social engagement delays or differences can benefit. PACT is an evidence-based therapy which coaches caregivers to support their child’s social and communication skills through video feedback. The program works in partnership with caregivers to empower them to notice and respond to their child’s communication, adapting the play, communication and social environment around the child to support their development and self-expression.
What are the benefits of PACT?
- It’s a block program with a clear start and end point, only 12 sessions in the core program.
- It can be delivered flexibly to children and families no matter where they live through telehealth. Families who find getting into a clinic setting challenging or who live regionally or in other states of Australia can access PACT at home through telehealth.
- Communication signals can be incredibly subtle or ‘blink and you miss it’ quick. PACT supports caregivers to recognise and respond to their child communication signals and enhance their child’s communication skills through using video as a tool to capture great communication moments and opportunities.
- It works in with families’ everyday routines and activities, so the skills caregivers learn in the program can be used functionally in everyday situations.
- It’s individualised and strengths focused.
What makes PACT unique?
- It uses video feedback to support caregivers to facilitate their child’s communication and interaction skills. This allows parents to slow down and notice really subtle or fast communication signals we might otherwise all miss!
- Caregivers are put in the ‘driver’s seat’ and a partnership is developed between the caregivers and clinician, rather than the clinician stepping in as the expert. Caregivers' deep knowledge of their unique child is celebrated and acknowledged.
- It is backed by high-quality research and aligns with the National Guideline for supporting autistic children.
- PACT is one of the few autism therapies to show long-term positive outcomes in social communication. The research shows that children who receive PACT therapy have positive impacts on their development, which persists long past when the family has finished the PACT program (Green et al., 2010; Pickles et al., 2016).
Who is PACT suitable for?
PACT is a program for children aged between 18 months to 11 years who have communication or social communication delays or differences. PACT is often identified as a great early support for children who have recently received an autism diagnosis, or appropriate for young children who may be on the pathway to an autism diagnosis (on a diagnostic waitlist or identified with early traits).
At CliniKids, PACT is available to caregivers of children aged 18 months to 8 years who would like some additional support to understand their child’s communication signals and learn more about helpful ways to tune in, play, respond and build great communication into everyday moments.
What does a PACT session look like?
PACT is a structured program delivered fortnightly for 12 sessions. It’s not an ongoing service, but rather has clear start and finish points. In between sessions, caregivers practise strategies during play and daily routines and receive support around how to put strategies into practice.
Each session starts with a video of the caregiver and child playing. This is either filmed ‘in session’ or filmed at home and provided by the family. The therapist and caregiver then watch the video. Together, they reflect and discuss aspects of the interaction, particularly highlighting what is working well and noticing specific communication strategies which fit the child’s individual strengths and support needs.
Each session, caregivers set goals in their own words and make a plan for the strategies they can implement at home. After each session, caregivers should leave feeling empowered to embed their practice into daily family life.
Here is some feedback from caregivers who participated in PACT:
- “The best part was the power of the video reflection.”
- “Some of the more noticeable changes were (child’s) increased engagement with myself and later others when playing.”
- “I really enjoyed the telehealth element. It made the program much more accessible for me as a working parent.”
- “I felt like my therapist really got to know my child through the videos as he was in his own environment.”
CliniKids has availability for PACT therapy. If you are interested in PACT for your child, please submit an online enquiry. Alternatively, for more information, phone 08 6319 1133 or email clinikids.reception@thekids.org.au
Further information for clinicians
Why do clinicians love PACT?
- As a certified PACT clinician, you can feel confident that you are providing children and families with a high-quality therapy that is backed by scientific research.
- The positive impact that video feedback can have on the caregiver-child relationship and how this can support a child and family to meet their goals.
- The PACT approach of working collaboratively with families is transferable to other aspects of clinician’s work and aligns with best-practice guidelines for early support delivery.
Online PACT training for professionals
CliniKids also offers PACT professional training. The online training and certification is designed for professionals who have experience working with young autistic children and their families.
CliniKids is the only service provider in Australia and New Zealand to offer training and certification in PACT. Training involves:
- A half-day of independent e-learning, which covers the theory behind PACT and begins to introduce PACT concepts.
- Four half-days of online training with a PACT trainer covering the core principles and the current evidence for PACT, demonstrating the model in use through video and role plays.
- A half-day online group session to support the completion of post-course fidelity requirements.
- 1-2 individual supervision meetings with a trainer where feedback is provided on video submissions required to become accredited.
- A PACT accreditation certificate for trainees who pass their post-course fidelity requirements.
CliniKids will run online PACT training in August 2024 and September 2024, as well as in May, June and September in 2025. The cost is $2850 (including GST).
For more information on online PACT training, visit the training page.
References
Green, J., Charman, T., McConachie, H., Aldred, C., Slonims, V., Howlin, P., Le Couteur, A., Leadbitter, K., Hudry, K., Byford, S., Barrett, B., Temple, K., Macdonald, W., & Pickles, A. (2010). Parent-mediated communication-focused treatment in children with autism (PACT): A randomised controlled trial, The Lancet (British Edition), 375(9732), 2152-2160. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60587-9.
Pickles, A., Le Couteur, A., Leadbitter, K., Salomone, E., Cole-Fletcher, R., Tobin, H., Gammer, I., Lowry, J., Vamvakas, G., Byford, S., Aldred, C., Slonims, V., McConachie, H., Howlin, P., Parr, J.R., Charman, T., & Green, J. (2016). Parent-mediated social communication therapy for young children with autism (PACT): Long-term follow-up of a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet (British Edition), 388(10059), 2501-2509. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31229-6.
Trembath, D., Varcin, K., Waddington, H., Sulek, R., Pillar, S., Allen, G., Annear, K., Eapan, V., Feary, J., Goodall, E., Pilbeam, T., Rose, F., Sadka, N., Silove, N., & Whitehouse, A. (2022) National Guideline for supporting the learning, participation, and wellbeing of autistic children and their families in Australia.