PACT-G
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Paediatric Autism Communication Trial - Generalised
IRAS ID
179495
Contact name
Jonathan Green
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN25378536
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Children with autism find it difficult to transfer skills learned in one setting to another. Our previous study (the Pre-school Autism Communication Trial; PACT), succeeded in improving children’s social communication with their parents, but these improvements were less obvious in other settings. This current project tests ways to transfer child communication gains of this kind into everyday home and education settings, and extends the intervention to be applicable from children between 2-11 years.\n\nParents with a child with autism eligible for the study will have 12 usually home-based intervention sessions over six months, using video aided techniques to help them learn the necessary social enrichment skills behind the intervention. There will be parallel similar sessions with the child’s Learning Support Assistant or equivalent, to help them work with the child along the same lines as the parent does but in the education context. Parents and teachers/learning support assistants will have monthly “structured communication“ sessions together, led by the therapist to discuss progress and integrate approaches. The whole intervention will last 12 months.\n\nThe study will be carried out with 244 families in the North-West, North-East of England and London over three years starting in 2017. Half the families, chosen at random, will receive this intervention in addition to their usual services, half will continue to receive usual services. Before, during and after the intervention, we will assess the child’s social communication with parent and LSA in home and school as well as general autism symptoms with an independent researcher. This will enable us to conclude how successful the intervention has been in improving child social interaction and development across contexts.\n\nThe study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research and Medical Research Council. We hope that it will mark an important next step towards effective integrated care for children with autism.\n\n\n
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0912
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion