Recruiting

Project ImPACTEvaluating Georgia Part C Implementation Outcomes

Sponsor:

Emory University

Code:

NCT07148258

Conditions

Communication Disorder, Childhood

Autism

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Project ImPACT Training As Usual

Project ImPACT Training Plus Co-Production

Routine Project ImPACT

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study aims to answer the question: What is the best way to help Early Intervention (EI) providers deliver high-quality services to children with communication delays for autism?

The primary goal of this project is to examine the outcomes associated with delivering Project ImPACT, an evidence-based autism intervention that is delivered as part of routine training within Georgia's EI system. Providers in the study will receive one of two Project ImPACT training models to help us understand which training model helps providers learn Project ImPACT better. Specifically, this study will examine the: 1) the process and quality by which Project ImPACT is implemented and adapted by EI providers across the two training conditions; 2) factors that impact how well Project ImPACT is implemented; and 3) the child (i.e., social communication) and family (i.e., parent empowerment and fidelity) outcomes associated with receiving Project ImPACT.

Conditions

Communication Disorder, Childhood

Autism

Study ID

NCT07148258

Start date

Sep 3, 2025

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

Sep, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Sep, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria for Providers:

Currently employed or contracted by Georgia's EI system
Maintain an active therapy caseload
Fluent in English.

Inclusion Criteria for Caregivers:

Have a child under 36 months currently enrolled in services through Georgia's Early Intervention system
Are being seen by a provider participating in Project ImPACT training and research
Fluent in English.

Exclusion Criteria for both Providers and Caregivers:

Not meeting the eligibility criteria.

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

other: Early Intervention (EI) providers

Early Intervention (EI) providers who serve young children with social communication delays and/or autism will report on their experiences delivering Project ImPACT via one of two training models. Providers will have the option of consenting to share videos of their Project ImPACT sessions to help us understand the quality of Project ImPACT delivery.

other: Caregivers

Caregivers of children under 36 months of age in the Georgia EI system who are receiving services within the EI system will report on their experiences with the providers who have been trained in one of the two Project ImPACT models.

Caregivers will either: 1) complete surveys before and after they receive Project ImPACT, or 2) complete a confidential survey after receiving Project ImPACT from their provider. Caregivers will have the option of consenting to share videos of their Project ImPACT sessions to help us understand the quality of Project ImPACT delivery.

Interventions

Project ImPACT Training As Usual

Project ImPACT is an evidence-based autism intervention that teaches parents to use a blend of developmental and naturalistic behavioral intervention techniques across a variety of daily routines to enhance their child's social engagement, language, imitation, and play skills.

The typical training model for Project ImPACT includes a 6-hour, interactive online tutorial that walks providers through the core Project ImPACT intervention strategies. After completing the online tutorial, providers attend a live interactive workshop virtually that is spread across 4, 3.5-hour days (14 hours total). Providers receive 1 hour of consultation once every other week for an hour from a trained Project ImPACT consultant (research staff member) following training.

Project ImPACT Training Plus Co-Production

Project ImPACT is an evidence-based autism intervention that teaches parents to use a blend of developmental and naturalistic behavioral intervention techniques across a variety of daily routines to enhance their child's social engagement, language, imitation, and play skills.

The second cohort for Project ImPACT training is a model in which providers receive the same typical Project ImPACT training activities, in addition to three supplemental modules on other common areas of concern for families and how best to integrate other topics within Project ImPACT to meet the diverse needs of families.

Routine Project ImPACT

Project ImPACT is an evidence-based autism intervention that teaches parents to use a blend of developmental and naturalistic behavioral intervention techniques across a variety of daily routines to enhance their child's social engagement, language, imitation, and play skills. Project ImPACT is delivered with parents meeting once or twice each week for one hour over 12- 16 weeks. In each session, parents receive: 1) didactic instruction in intervention strategies; 2) modeling of the intervention techniques by the therapist; 3) live coaching from the therapist while practicing the strategies with their child; and 4) homework to practice the strategies at home with their child, 20 minutes each day across meaningful home routines.

Primary outcome measure

Project ImPACT Coaching Fidelity [ Time Frame: Biweekly up to 20 weeks ]
Provider Co-Production Quality [ Time Frame: Baseline; Weekly up to 12 weeks, and 6-months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Katherine E. Pickard, PhD

404-7859491 katherine.e.pickard@emory.edu

Locations

Marcus Autism Center

Recruiting

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30329

More Information

Sponsor

Emory University

Last update posted

May 19, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

Caregivers
Early Intervention (EI) Providers
Early Intervention System
Project ImPACT
Social communication delays

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Emory University on 2026-05-19.