Finding communication and language interventions that really help autistic people is one of the community’s top priorities for research.
As well as funding research into new interventions, we're also raising awareness of communication therapies that could help autistic people now.
We're particularly excited about a new type of intervention called parent led video feedback therapy which could now be offered on the NHS.
We need your help to spread the word.
What is parent-led video therapy?
Parent-led video therapies aim to improve the social communication skills of young children on the autism spectrum, particularly those who speak few or no words.
The approach involves a therapist filming parents playing with their child. Parent and therapist watch the film back together and positive interactions are discussed and put into practice at home. The therapies can help children develop their own communication skills. They do not 'teach parenting skills' or 'cure' autism.
The Pre-school Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) is the only programme of this type that's ready for use in the NHS.
Randomised control trials have shown that PACT can significantly improve autistic children’s long-term social communication skills.
Help inform your local NHS about the latest evidence
We've put together a summary of the evidence on parent-led video feedback therapy that we'd like NHS services to consider in their planning. The summary recommends that all local areas should have healthcare professionals accredited to deliver PACT.
Read our evidence summary on parent-led video feedback therapy (pdf)
Share the evidence summary with your local authority or Autism Partnership Board and help inform your local services:
How to contact your local council
Your local council should be able to direct information to the appropriate local services or planning organisations. You can search for your local council on the GOV.UK website and then contact them using the details on their website.
Go to GOV.UKHow to find your local Autism Partnership Board
Autism Partnership Boards are forums for planning local health and care services. They are recommended by the national autism strategy.
There is no central list of Autism Partnership Boards but you can look for your local area’s response to the Autism Self-Assessment Exercise 2016.
Alternatively you can search for your Board in the ‘local government’ category of the National Autistic Society’s Service Directory.
If you are a health or education professional
If you are a professional interested in the accredited training available for PACT you can find more information by visiting the University of Manchester's webpage on PACT.
Training can be arranged by contacting Dr Catherine Aldred, Consultant Speech and Language Therapist at craldred@tiscali.co.uk.