How Quickly Should Partners Respond During FCT?

Track FCT partner response timing

Define the message, responsible partner, clock start, acceptable response, target latency, unavailable-outcome script, and escalation route. Count every eligible message, including messages missed or answered late. Report partner implementation separately from the person's independent communication and target response.

Interpret the plan in context

A partner can respond by providing the outcome, explaining that it is unavailable, offering a named alternative, or activating a pre-taught wait routine. Silence or an unclear maybe can make communication unreliable. Basic needs and immediate safety require their own route and should not enter a delay program.

Use current clinical and research sources

The FCT review describes partner recognition, outcome delivery, and schedule changes. The schedule-thinning review documents varied delay and signal arrangements in the literature. The Ethics Code keeps assessment, risk, consent, assent when applicable, and evaluation active.

Preserve communication and participation

The ASHA AAC portal supports continuous access to communication tools. For this decision, preserve established communication, ordinary supports, direct client input, consent, assent when applicable, and a usable way to decline, pause, or correct.

A practical example

Across twelve break messages, partners respond within the planned ten seconds to nine, answer late twice, and miss one. The client communicates independently in ten of twelve opportunities. The practice reports nine of twelve partner responses rather than calling ten messages fully successful.

Questions families can use

What starts the clock? Which partner action counts? How are unavailable outcomes handled? Do missed messages stay in the denominator? What does the client report about predictability and trust?