Glocalizing project ImPACT: Feasibility, acceptability and preliminary outcomes of a parent-mediated social communication intervention for autism adapted to the Indian context

Abstract Background Parent mediated intervention programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) assume great importance in resource-poor communities in Low and Middle-Income Countries. However, very few evidence-based, manualized, and replicable programs have been documented in such settings. Methods Project ImPACT ( Ingersoll & Dvortcsak, 2010 )- a parent-mediated Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) for young children with ASD shown to improve social communication, engagement and play was adapted and subsequently implemented at a child development center in an urban setting in India to meet the needs of the community. A quasi-experimental pre-post study design was utilized, with questionnaires about family satisfaction, parent-perceived social-communication skills of children, and parental stress used to gather information. Video-recordings of parent-child interaction were coded to assess parent fidelity. Caregivers of 57 children enrolled in the Intervention, with complete data for feasibility and acceptability of the intervention as well as parent-perceived outcomes available for 39 (n = 39). Results Results showed that urban Indian parents found the intervention feasible and acceptable, were able to demonstrate the strategies taught and perceived improvement in their children’s social communication skills. In addition, parent stress levels decreased after completion of the intervention. Conclusion Findings suggest that brief parent-mediated intervention interventions like Project ImPACT can be successfully implemented in low-resource, culturally diverse settings, thereby opening avenues for replication and expansion of much-needed services in this region.