Category: Children Therapy

PACT Therapy

PACT Therapy

What is PACT?

The Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) is a relatively low intensity, evidence-based, intervention.

Therapists work with parent/carers to enhance social communication with their young child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

PACT is the first autism intervention therapy to have shown long-term reduction in autism symptom severity.

In a large clinical trial, the group of children receiving PACT pre-school, when compared to usual care, showed improvements in social communication and a reduction in the level of restricted and repetitive behaviours that were sustained into middle childhood, six years after the end of treatment.

In other studies, PACT has also been applied successfully in children up to 10 years of age. 

How does PACT work?

In a 12-session staged intervention, the therapist uses specific video feedback techniques to help parents/carers recognise, respond to, and enhance their child’s social communication.

They also work to support and empower parents in embedding these communication techniques into daily family life.

In this way, children are supported to develop their interaction and communication skills in their natural environment.

This is one of the most effective ways of ensuring enduring improvements in social communication skills. 

Within each 1 ½ hr session, the therapist records a short video (around 10 minutes) of the parent and child interacting or playing together.

This video is then reviewed with the parent, using selected moments to identify and discuss the best individual communication strategies for the child.

Between sessions, parents are asked to practise their PACT strategies with the child for around 30 minutes a day.

Further booster sessions are offered at the end of treatment to continue generalising the communication techniques in daily routines. 

Where can PACT take place?

PACT can be delivered either in the clinic or in home or caregiver setting.

The PACT team are also currently conducting further research to establish whether it would also be beneficial to be delivered within a child’s educational setting.

Other health, education or social interventions can be continued in parallel.

Please see attached flyer for more information. PACT Parents flyer_2020_issuu

Centre Opening Soon!

Roundway Centre Opening Soon

We are excited to be opening our newly refurbed Roundway Centre for appointments in March with the options of online and face-to-face consultations.

Many families have found the online video conference appointments more convenient as there is no need to travel and many of our assessments are already adapted to online delivery.

Young people often find online appointments more comfortable as they can participate from the comforts of their own home or we can arrange to meet online in school.

For younger children, we ask parents to send video clips of interaction of their child in play or daily routines, for example, snack time, interaction games and play with bubbles, toys and motivating objects with an adult.

This forms the basis of a detailed video analysis where we can observe the child’s strengths, emerging skills and areas for development.

We have standardised assessment instruments that build a profile from the video analysis and together with the parental history, forms the basis of a diagnosis, recommendations of need and intervention plan.

Therapy intervention is also available online meeting with the young person or reviewing video clips for parental feedback and planning intervention goals.

Our team are experts in their field of specialism delivering the most up to date evidence-based practice through close collaboration and joint working with the University of Manchester.

Get the most out of your day at home and school

We use positive individual strategies to enable the best interaction, relationships and reduce secondary stress and anxiety; to improve quality of life for the individual person, their family and their interactions with others in their life.

We help children, individual young people and their parents define their goals and objectives in therapy sessions.

We work within individual schedules, making appointments mutually agreeable and accessible to all.

We help children and young people with their understanding of the complex, often confusing invisible rules of interaction and communication.

We listen to patterns of their thinking and beliefs and help them align their understanding with other people’s communication and intentions. It helps in addressing the problems with understanding people’s communication, building more confidence to interact.

We identify the individual motivation, aspirations and needs, delivering individualised pathways to better interaction and communication in all settings.

We help underpin the causes of emotional burden, stress and anxiety that are causing life changing issues and bring about better self-awareness and helpful strategies.

We help you embrace your life in the way it is meant to be.

 

PACT Therapy

What is PACT? The Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) is a relatively low intensity, evidence-based, intervention. …

Centre Opening Soon!

Many families have found the online video conference appointments more convenient as there is no need to travel and many …

Get the most out of your day at home and school

We use positive individual strategies to enable the best interaction, relationships and reduce secondary stress and anxiety; …