Study of Early Communication Home-Learning Offer (ECHO), a targeted communication program for parents/caregivers of children under 2 years old with significant language difficulties and social communication difficulties

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Prevention of long-term language difficulties in children with social communication difficulties; Mental and Behavioural Disorders

• Registration Number: ISRCTN14728370
• Lead Sponsor: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2024-08-08
• Last Update Posted: 19 August 2024
• Study Completion: 2025-12-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Ongoing
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

Qualitative Study:
1.Parent/caregiver received at least one ECHO Intervention session within the last 12 months
2.Parent/caregiver residing within the Manchester Local Authority at the time of interview
3.Parent/caregiver having a sufficient level of oral language skills in any language to participate in an in-depth interview as assessed by the researcher’s judgement

ECHO Intervention Study:
1.Parent/caregiver and child aged less than 24 months at the start of intervention
2.Parent/caregiver and child who scored Red on the WellComm Language Screen within 3 months of the start of intervention
3.Parent/caregiver and child who scored High Likelihood of autism on Social Attention and Communication Surveillance (SACS-R) tool
4.Residing within the Manchester Local Authority for the duration of intervention

Exclusion Criteria

Qualitative Study:
1.Current significant and ongoing safeguarding concerns.
2.Learning disabilities and/or communication difficulties or disorders that significantly impact parent/caregiver’s capacity to give informed consent and participate in interview even with interpreter support and use of supportive communication strategies.

ECHO Intervention Study:
1.Family currently receiving intervention from another Speech and Language Therapy Service.
2.Parent/caregiver already taking part in the study with another child.
3.Child or parent/caregiver has a diagnosis of visual, motor, or hearing impairment.
4.Child has a diagnosis of a developmental disorder other than autism.
5.Current significant and ongoing safeguarding concerns.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales Developmental Profile™ (CSBS DP) (Wetherby, A.; Prizant, B., 2002) clinical assessment at baseline and 12-week follow up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
1. Qualitative interviews completed via Zoom within 12 months of participation in ECHO <br>2. WellComm Language Screen Early Years Toolkit – paper version (GL Assessments, 2015) measured using clinical observation at baseline and 12-week follow up <br>3. The Pragmatics Profile of Everyday Communication Skills (Dewart et al., 1995) questionnaire completed by verbal interview at baseline and 12-week follow up<br>4. The Tool to Measure Parenting Self-Efficacy (TOPSE) (Bloomfield et al., 2010) questionnaire completed by parent/caregiver at baseline and 12-week follow up<br>5. Clinical outcome measure of parent-child interaction measured using clinical observation at baseline, each intervention session, and 12-week follow up