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Initial Efficacy of Project ImPACT: A Parent-Mediated Social Communication Intervention for Young Children with ASD

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Abstract

Project ImPACT is a parent-mediated social communication intervention for young children with ASD that was developed in community settings to encourage dissemination. A single-subject, multiple-baseline design was conducted across 8 preschoolers with ASD and their mothers to examine the efficacy of the model for improving parent intervention fidelity and child spontaneous language. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the relationship between parent fidelity and child language within session. All parents increased their use of the intervention techniques. Improvements in spontaneous use of language targets were observed for 6 of the 8 children. There was a significant association between parents’ use of the intervention strategies and their child’s spontaneous language use.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the families who participated in this research. We would also like to thank the therapists who provided the parent training and the research assistants who assisted with the behavioral coding. Finally, we would like to thank Deborah Kashy for her assistance with the multilevel modeling analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, Psychology Building, Rm 105B, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Brooke Ingersoll

  2. Michigan State University, Psychology Building, Rm 69F, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Allison Wainer

Authors
  1. Brooke Ingersoll
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  2. Allison Wainer
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Correspondence to Brooke Ingersoll.

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Ingersoll, B., Wainer, A. Initial Efficacy of Project ImPACT: A Parent-Mediated Social Communication Intervention for Young Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 2943–2952 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1840-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1840-9

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