What is PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy)?
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is a social communication development program for autistic children and their parents. It supports children’s development by helping parents learn to:
- recognise their autistic child’s communication signals
- build ways of communicating and interacting with their child.
Who is PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) for?
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is for children with social communication difficulties who have been or are likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. It’s suitable for children aged 2-11 years.
What is PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) used for?
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is used to help parents better recognise, respond to and enhance their child’s communication and interaction skills.
Therapists help parents learn strategies that parents can then use in daily activities and play with their child. When parents have skills and strategies that they can use in their child’s natural environment, they’re better able to help their child develop skills too.
Where does PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) come from?
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) was developed in the early 2000s by a group of researchers and clinicians at the University of Manchester, UK. It’s based on research and clinical experience from the field of speech pathology.
What is the idea behind PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy)?
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is based on several ideas:
- Autistic children learn to communicate and interact through daily interactions with their parents during family routines and play.
- Autistic children communicate in various ways, like gestures or pulling your hand towards an object they want.
- Parents often need extra help to recognise, interpret and respond to autistic children’s signals.
Using these ideas, PACT builds on the relationship between parents and children to create and make the most of everyday opportunities for communication and interaction.
What does PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) involve?
In a PACT program, a child and their parent attend a 90-minute session every 2 weeks for 6 months. After the core 12 sessions, parents can attend optional monthly maintenance sessions.
Each PACT session is structured in a similar way:
- The therapist videos the child and parent playing together.
- The parent and therapist watch the video. They look at how the child interacts and communicates. They also highlight examples of successful interaction and communication between the parent and child, like when the child and parent understand each other.
- Together the parent and therapist develop strategies to help the child communicate and interact. They also set daily home practice goals for the parent.
In between sessions, parents do 30 minutes of daily home practice with their child during play or family routines.
PACT programs are tailored to a family’s individual needs and recognise each child’s individual needs and skills.
You can do PACT via telehealth, so you can use this therapy even if you don’t have a PACT therapist in your local area. Because PACT involves taking a video of you playing with your child, talk to the therapist about how this will work via telehealth.
Does PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) help autistic children?
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is supported by high-quality research. This research shows that PACT:
- improves children’s social communication skills
- helps with difficulties associated with repetitive behaviour and restricted interests
- helps children keep improving over the long term – for example, 6 years after the end of therapy.
Children benefit most from PACT when they have the therapy early in childhood and when parents complete all 12 core sessions.
Who practises PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy)?
Only therapists who have completed specific training can offer PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy). PACT therapists come from many backgrounds, including speech pathology, psychology, occupational therapy and special education.
Where can you find a PACT practitioner?
If you’re interested in PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy), you can talk about it with your GP or one of the other professionals working with your child. You could also talk about it with your NDIA planner, early childhood partner or local area coordinator, if you have one.
Parent education, training, support and involvement
PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is a ‘parent-mediated’ therapy. This means that it’s a therapy that helps children by working with parents. PACT sessions aim to build parents’ skills rather than children’s.
So if your child is doing PACT, your involvement is essential. You’ll:
- attend sessions with your child
- be videoed playing and communicating with your child
- look at the videos with the therapist to identify communication strategies for your child and set goals
- practise techniques daily at home with your child.
Cost considerations
PACT sessions can range from $290-$360 per session, depending on the therapist you use.
Some private health care funds might cover some of the consultation fee. If the provider has HICAPS, you can make a claim immediately.
You can contact the NDIS to find out whether you can include the cost of PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy) in your child’s NDIS plan.
Therapies and supports for autistic children range from behavioural therapies and developmental approaches to medicines and alternative therapies. When you understand the main types of therapies and supports for autistic children, it’ll be easier to work out the approach that will best suit your child.