PACT (Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy) is a specific communication and language therapy for children with ASD or social communication needs. It is based on videofeedback and is designed for parents or direct caregivers of children with difficulties in the social communication field. It can be carried out with children between the ages of 2 and 11 years, from those who use few or no words to those who use sentences to communicate.

Video feedback allows parents to recognize the communication of the child with ASD and discover new ways to successfully interact. The certified PACT therapist works hand-in-hand with family members or caregivers, supporting and empowering them with improved skills, and helping them to integrate PACT techniques into daily life routines to create sustained change over time.

PACT is designed for children who show signs of autism or who have received a diagnosis of autism, as well as for those who present needs in the area of communication and social interactions. As mentioned above, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder usually present difficulties in communication and building social relationships as well as restricted and repetitive interests. PACT is an intervention focused on improving communication and language, with a solid scientific basis that has been shown to significantly improve the mentioned difficulties. In addition, PACT focuses on children’s strengths and individual potential, rather than normalizing or masking atypical behavior. Studies show that the progress achieved is sustained for up to six years.

PACT can be delivered both in person and online. The PACT intervention involves individual sessions of approximately one hour in duration, every two weeks, with half an hour of daily practice between sessions. In total, it is estimated that between 12 and 18 sessions are needed to complete the intervention. Subsequently, maintenance sessions are offered to generalize the skills achieved in daily routines or in different contexts.

First, the therapist conducts an evaluation of the child’s language level and social and communication skills in order to measure the evolution, progress, and success of the intervention. A meeting is held with the family members to discuss the child’s development and especially to determine the child’s current needs.

Subsequently, each PACT session is conducted as follows:

PACT can be combined with other interventions. As mentioned, PACT is designed to intervene in the communication and social interaction area. Children with ASD often have other needs related to learning, sleep, feeding, and behavior, and consequently need the support of other professionals, such as psychologists or psychiatrists.

After the PACT intervention has been completed, parents may be offered additional sessions or continue with other interventions that may meet their child’s needs at that time. Other areas of intervention may need to be explored or speech therapy support may need to be continued.

The group is organized in 8 sessions and 4 modules:
In the first session, we will introduce ourselves, know more about what each one of the participants seeks from the group, and talk about the rules and our objectives.
In every session, the material used will be applied to real situations the participants face. The therapist will help the group feel safe creating a judgement-free, secure environment, where everyone can communicate, feel heard and connect better, exploring different ways of interacting.

Communication module (2 sessions): The different communication styles will be introduced, verbal and non-verbal communication, assertiveness and managing conflicts.

Self-confidence module (2 sessions): Being confident in oneself is key to effective communication. Negative emotions that arise during interactions as a result of insecurities or social anxiety, and how to conquer them in order to maintain healthy relationships will be addressed in this module.

Connection module (2 sessions): What is your weak point when you try to connect with others? Do you overthink what you said constantly? Do you avoid conflict and find it hard to say no? Do you find it hard to trust others? In this module, we will practice healthy ways of connecting with others.

Integration Module (2 sessions): This module will be useful to internalize the learned strategies, and for the participants to get to know each other better. We will talk about what it means to give and receive support, and how to find effective ways to communicate on a deeper level.

At the end of the 8 sessions, it will be decided if participants want to benefit from one or two extra sessions to strengthen any aspect of the material or have a closing/goodbye session.

Families often just want to clear up some doubts: When should a third language be introduced?, What should we do when one of our children suddenly stops responding to us in our native language despite being able to fully understand us?, In which language should our child start learning to read and write first?…

Initially, we will carry out a detailed analysis of the circumstances of each family through a comprehensive questionnaire sent by e-mail. This information would be taken to the appointment in our offices (how many languages, hours of exposure, people who speak to the child in each language, activities in each language, etc.)

The consultation, one hour, would resolve any doubts and a plan of action will be developed in order to achieve balanced multilingual development.
This service is available ON LINE (in Spanish). Click HERE for more information

In the case of young children or adolescents, whenever parents, doctors or teachers detect any problem in the areas mentioned above including reading problems, frequent written or spoken grammatical errors, stuttering, difficulties producing speech sounds accurately, the child doesn’t follow directions or appears lost when relating events to him/her, has difficulty describing events and encounters, unusual breathing patterns, hoarse/strained or an otherwise unusual voice.