Hanen interventions are grounded in extensive research showing the significant impact parents can have when they are supported to play a leading role in their child’s intervention. In this approach, parents and SLPs work collaboratively, where the SLP takes on the role of a "coach" to help parents learn strategies to support their child's communication during fun, everyday interactions. With guidance from the SLP, parents learn how to help their child at home. In this way, parents can turn any everyday activity into an opportunity for communication and essentially provide therapy every day for their child. This type of collaboration between parents and SLPs is called “parent-implemented intervention” or "caregiver coaching".

But as a parent of an autistic child, you might ask yourself, although I know my child best, can I develop the knowledge and skills to best support my child’s communication? Is it effective when parents provide therapy at home with their child?

Study reveals that parent-implemented invention works!

Studies that have looked at parent-implemented intervention have often included children with a wide variety of language abilities and developmental disabilities [1,2]. But a group of researchers from Illinois decided to review studies specific to autistic children [3]. Hedda Meadan and her colleagues looked at twelve studies of parent-implemented intervention with young autistic children*. While the interventions in the different studies taught the parents a variety of approaches and strategies, all of the studies involved teaching parents to work directly with their child at home. Altogether, 105 children (and 110 parents) were included in these studies.

Meadan and her colleagues found positive benefits for both parents and children. The twelve studies showed that:

• Parents successfully learned new strategies to use with their children at home
• Parents use of these new strategies resulted in positive changes in their children's communication and social communication.

What these results mean is that parents of autistic children can learn strategies to support their child, and when they use these strategies, their child's communication and social communication abilities expand.

*More Than Words®, the Hanen parent-implemented intervention program for parents of autistic children or children who may benefit from social communication support, was the subject of a research study in 2011. However, the results were not included in Meadan’s review because her study only covered research published between 1997 and 2007.

What else do experts say about the role parents play in intervention for autistic children?

The American Academy of Pediatrics asked several top autism researchers for their recommendations about best practice for intervention for young autistic children. They suggested that parents should play a central role in their child’s intervention, and that…

They felt that when parents use routines as learning opportunities, it helps the child use their new skills in a variety of everyday situations (as opposed to learning new things in a clinic, which then involves re-learning how to use the skills at home).

Meadan and her colleagues suggest that there are some barriers to parent-implemented intervention. Two of these barriers are parents’ access to parent-friendly materials that describe how to use strategies with their child, and professionals’ lack of training related to working with parents and helping them learn strategies. They feel that with more resources for parents and training for professionals, parent-implemented intervention can be more widely used.

Making parent-implemented intervention happen

The Hanen Centre has paved the way for parent-implemented intervention since the 1970s. This is captured in our mission statement:

Recognizing the need for parent-friendly resources and programs, The Hanen Centre has two programs for parents of autistic children:

• More Than Words® — The Hanen Program® for Parents of Autistic Children or Children Who May Benefit from Social Communication Support. In More Than Words , parents start by learning how to understand their child’s communication better and how to identify the things that interest them. Parents then learn how to use that knowledge during everyday moments with their child to encourage longer interactions, that support their child’s understanding and social communication while having fun together.
• TalkAbility™ — The Hanen Program® for Parents of Autistic Children Who Are Speaking in Sentences and Having Conversations – In TalkAbility , parents learn strategies they can apply during everyday life with their child to help the parent understand their child’s perspective better, and to help their child understand the perspectives of others – a key part of social communication. Parents also learn how to help their child have longer conversations with both adults and peers, as well as how to support their friendship skills.

These programs have companion guidebooks that are filled with easy-to-use information and tips so that parents can start supporting their child’s social communication right away.

You Play an Essential Role

The power of involving parents in their child’s intervention cannot be underestimated. As Meadan and her colleagues explain:

Parent-Implemented intervention provides a child with the best possible opportunities to expand their communication and social communication because they are supported during their everyday life, each and every day. And because they are learning new things at home with the people closest to them, learning becomes natural, motivating and fun. When parents and speech-language pathologists collaborate in this way, it ensures the child learns from the best possible teachers - their parents.