The quality of the health care provider , the duration , and the intensity of intervention played an important role in the effectiveness of the intervention .
Interpretation Music therapy appears to be an effective tool for improving social interaction in preschool-aged children with ASD .
Background Autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) is characterised by significant impairment in social communication and the presence of restrictive and repetitive behaviour or interest .
Intervention during early childhood could decrease ASD symptoms .
We aim ed to identify the most effective intervention based on cognitive , developmental , and behavioural approaches and the factors that impact the effectiveness of the intervention .
A randomized controlled trial of Pivotal Response Treatment Group for parents of children with autism.
BACKGROUND With rates of autism diagnosis continuing to rise , there is an urgent need for effective and efficient service delivery models . Pivotal Response Treatment ( PRT ) is considered an established treatment for autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) ; however , there have been few well-controlled studies with adequate sample size . The aim of this study was to conduct a r and omized controlled trial to evaluate PRT parent training group ( PRTG ) for targeting language deficits in young children with ASD . METHODS Fifty-three children with autism and significant language delay between 2 and 6 years old were r and omized to PRTG ( N = 27 ) or psychoeducation group ( PEG ; N = 26 ) for 12 weeks . The PRTG taught parents behavioral techniques to facilitate language development . The PEG taught general information about ASD ( clinical trial NCT01881750 ; http://www . clinical trials.gov ) . RESULTS Analysis of child utterances during the structured laboratory observation ( primary outcome ) indicated that , compared with children in the PEG , children in the PRTG demonstrated greater improvement in frequency of utterances ( F(2 , 43 ) = 3.53 , p = .038 , d = 0.42 ) . Results indicated that parents were able to learn PRT in a group format , as the majority of parents in the PRTG ( 84 % ) met fidelity of implementation criteria after 12 weeks . Children also demonstrated greater improvement in adaptive communication skills ( Vinel and -II ) following PRTG and baseline Mullen visual reception scores predicted treatment response to PRTG . CONCLUSIONS This is the first r and omized controlled trial of group-delivered PRT and one of the largest experimental investigations of the PRT model to date . The findings suggest that specific instruction in PRT  results in greater skill acquisition for both parents and children , especially in functional and adaptive communication skills .  Further research in PRT is warranted to replicate the observed results and address other core ASD symptoms
The quality of the health care provider , the duration , and the intensity of intervention played an important role in the effectiveness of the intervention .
Interpretation Music therapy appears to be an effective tool for improving social interaction in preschool-aged children with ASD .
Background Autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) is characterised by significant impairment in social communication and the presence of restrictive and repetitive behaviour or interest .
Intervention during early childhood could decrease ASD symptoms .
We aim ed to identify the most effective intervention based on cognitive , developmental , and behavioural approaches and the factors that impact the effectiveness of the intervention .