Telehealth coaching in Project ImPACT indirectly affects children's expressive language ability through parent intervention strategy use and child intentional communication: An RCT.
Weekly Zoom coaching keeps parents using ImPACT strategies, which sparks child intentional communication and later expressive language growth.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ingersoll et al. (2024) tested Project ImPACT when it is delivered through live Zoom coaching.
Therapists joined families online and coached parents while they played with their child.
The team tracked parent strategy use, child intentional communication, and later expressive language scores.
What they found
Nine months later, children spoke more words and longer sentences.
The gains did not come straight from coaching.
They flowed through two steps: first parents used more ImPACT strategies, then children showed more intentional communication, and finally language grew.
How this fits with other research
Einfeld et al. (1996) showed the same chain reaction in person. Parents learned PRT at home and family dinners got happier and more talkative.
Kim et al. (2005) found the same link in Korea. When mothers became more responsive, their preschoolers with disabilities talked more.
Sobsey et al. (1983) warned that parent skills can fade after one-time training. Ingersoll et al. (2024) solved this by giving ongoing live feedback each week, keeping strategy use high.
Why it matters
You can run Project ImPACT through Zoom and still get strong language gains months later. The trick is to keep coaching parents every week so their strategy use stays strong. If you serve rural families or have long wait-lists, switch to telehealth and schedule weekly live feedback sessions.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parent-mediated, naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) are a promising approach for supporting social communication development in young autistic children. This study examined the effect of telehealth delivery of a parent-mediated NDBI, Project ImPACT, on children's expressive language ability using a randomized control trial with intent-to-treat analysis. Sixty-four young autistic children and their primary caregiver were matched on age and developmental quotient and randomly assigned to receive 6 months of therapist-assisted Project ImPACT (i.e., telehealth coaching), self-directed Project ImPACT, or an active control. Parent-child interactions were recorded at intake and immediately post-treatment, and the children's expressive language skills were assessed at intake and a 9-month follow-up using standardized measures. Although there was no total effect of treatment group assignment on child outcomes, a serial mediation analysis revealed that therapist-assisted ImPACT had an indirect effect on children's expressive language ability at follow-up through their parents' use of the intervention strategies and their intentional communication immediately post-treatment. Findings support Project ImPACT's program theory and highlight the importance of coaching in achieving positive outcomes when delivered via telehealth.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024 · doi:10.1002/aur.3230