PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy)

At Piccolo we offer PACT at your home or via telehealth. Want to find out more information? Read below!

PACT is an evidenced based program for parents of children diagnosed with Autism or for those who have social communication differences. The PACT therapist works directly with caregivers, rather than the child, developing an understanding of how their child interacts and adapting ways to support their communication. It uses videos of you and your child interacting together during play or daily routines. Together we observe the best moments of child interaction to identify what works best to support your child's communication. PACT builds on the relationship between the caregiver and the child by supporting connection, celebrating difference and enhancing communication. 

Large clinical trials have demonstrated enhanced social communication skills following this 6 month program. These improvements were sustained six years after the program had been completed. 

PACT is suitable for children showing early signs of autism or children with a diagnosis of autism up to 11 years of age. It is suitable for both children who use sentences to children who use few or no words.

• PACT is delivered across 12 sessions, fortnightly for 6 months.
• Each session with your PACT therapist is 90 minutes. Sessions can be delivered face-to-face at home or over telehealth.
• Between sessions, at home, you will practice specific PACT strategies with your child within play or daily routines. Up to 30 minutes of practice a day is recommended.
• You can choose to access a further 6, monthly, 'booster' sessions if required.

• Each session follows the same format, starting with a review of the home practice and the previous session's strategies.
• If the session is face to face, the PACT therapist will record a 10 minute play session with you and your child.
• If the session is over telehealth, you will send a 10 minute video of you and your child interacting to the PACT therapist in advance of your telehealth session.
• You and the PACT therapist will watch your video together.
• Using specific video feedback techniques, the PACT therapist will guide your reflections on what is working well, and relate this to specific PACT strategies. The PACT therapist will explain how these strategies support your child.
• PACT strategies follow a developmental sequence from shared attention to language comprehension to expressive communication.
• At the end of each session, you and the therapist will create a home plan and agree strategies to focus on for your home practice.

Take a look at the following links for more information: 

1. PACT - Information for Parents
2. PACT - Publications