EMT en Español Para Autismo: A Collaborative Communication Intervention Approach and Single Case Design Pilot Study
Spanish telehealth coaching lets Latina moms use EMT plus AAC and boosts their preschoolers’ requests.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pak et al. (2024) tested a Spanish-language telehealth program for Latina moms of preschoolers with autism. The program is called EMT en Español Para Autismo. It blends Enhanced Milieu Teaching with AAC tools like picture cards or tablets.
Two mother-child pairs joined weekly Zoom coaching. Moms learned to wait, model words, and prompt requests during play and meals. Researchers used a multiple-baseline design across behaviors to see if moms used the strategies and if kids talked more.
What they found
One mom showed a clear jump in strategy use right after coaching began. The second mom improved but with more ups and downs. Both kids asked for toys and snacks more often, even with simple AAC.
Moms kept most skills when they tried them at home without the coach. They said the program fit their family and culture.
How this fits with other research
Ferguson et al. (2022) already showed English telehealth parent coaching works. Pak adds Spanish language and Latino cultural cues, extending the model to an under-served group.
Giesbers et al. (2020) ran a similar in-person AAC caregiver study and got communication gains. Pak matches those gains while staying fully online, so families can join from rural areas.
Lee et al. (2024) also used a multiple-baseline telehealth design, but with neurotypical kids and life-skills. Pak shows the same design works for autistic preschoolers and language targets.
Why it matters
If you serve Spanish-speaking families, you now have proof that telehealth EMT plus AAC is doable and effective. You can offer evening Zoom sessions, cut travel time, and still see child progress. Start with one family, teach three EMT steps, and track mom’s prompts and child requests across play routines.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The primary purpose of the current pilot study was to test the effects of an adapted and collaborative intervention model with a systematic teaching approach on Latina Spanish-speaking caregivers’ use of EMT en Español Para Autismo strategies with their young children on the autism spectrum. A multiple baseline across behaviors single case design was replicated across two dyads. A series of family interviews and a direct therapist-child intervention phase supported individualization of the intervention. Families were provided speech generating devices as part of their children’s intervention protocol. Caregivers were taught to use EMT en Español Para Autismo strategies with aided language input. Strategies included contingent target-level and proximal target-level language modeling, linguistic expansions, and communication elicitations. Secondary variables measured included generalization of strategy use to unsupported interactions and at a 2-month follow-up, child communication outcomes, and social validity. There was a strong functional relation for one dyad between the adapted and collaborative intervention and caregiver use of EMT strategies. The functional relation was weakened by behavioral covariation for the other dyad. Children increased the quantity and diversity of their communication during the study. Caregivers generalized their use of most EMT strategies and reported most aspects of the approach to be socially valid. The current study provides an initial demonstration of an effective model for adaptation and individualization of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for Latino Spanish-speaking families with children on the autism spectrum.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2024 · doi:10.1007/s10803-024-06322-5