Feasibility Trial of Parent-delivered Social Communication Program

The Hanen Centre®'s More Than Words® (MTW) program is a globally used, parent coaching intervention delivered by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to parents of children with social communication challenges, including those who have a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of autism. The training program is designed to provide parents with the tools, strategies, and support they need to help their children reach their full communication and social interaction potential. In this study, children and parents enrolled in the MTW program as a part of their current standard of care will be recruited by their SLPs from their community sites of the publicly-funded Ontario Preschool Speech and Language Program. The primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of study procedures in recruitment and data collection involving parents and children receiving MTW in the community. The investigators will also examine changes in child communication, parent-child social interactions, parent confidence, and parent use of social communication strategies prior to and following participation in the program. Findings from this study will inform the optimal design of a future pragmatic randomized control trial to examine the effectiveness of the MTW program for preschool children and their caregivers.