Pivotal Response Training. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2016-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Intervention,Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Behavior Modification,Educational Research,Program Effectiveness,Language Skills,Communication Skills,Children,Randomized Controlled Trials

This intervention report presents findings from a systematic review of &quot;pivotal response training&quot; conducted using the What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook (version 3.0) and the Children and Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder review protocol (version 3.0). &quot;Pivotal response training&quot; (&quot;PRT&quot;) is an intervention designed for children with autism spectrum disorders. This practice focuses on pivotal (core) areas affected by autism, such as communication and responding to environmental stimuli. &quot;PRT&quot; sessions typically begin with a parent or teacher providing clear instructions to a child, having the child help choose a stimulus (such as a toy), and focusing the child's attention. The parent or teacher then encourages the desired behavior (for example, asking for the toy or choosing &quot;toy&quot; from a list of words) by providing rewards if the child implements or attempts to implement the desired behavior. The complexity of the required responses increases as training progresses. Parents, teachers, and peers collaboratively implement the practice at school, at home, and in the community. &quot;PRT&quot; can be used with autistic children aged 2-18. &quot;PRT&quot; is also known as &quot;Pivotal Response Therapy,&quot; &quot;Pivotal Response Treatment&quot;®, or &quot;Natural Language Paradigm.&quot; &quot;PRT&quot; was found to have no discernible effects on communication/language competencies for children and students with an autism spectrum disorder. The WWC identified three eligible group design studies and 37 eligible single-case design studies that investigated the effects of &quot;PRT&quot; on children and students with an autism spectrum disorder. The WWC reviewed three eligible studies against group design standards. Two of the eligible group design studies are randomized controlled trials that meet WWC group design standards without reservations. They are: (1) Hardan, A. Y., Gengoux, G. W., Berquist, K. L., Libove, R. A., Adrel, C. M., Phillips, J., … Minjarez, M. B. (2015). &quot;A randomized controlled trial of Pivotal Response Treatment Group for parents of children with autism.&quot; &quot;Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,&quot; 56(8), 884-892. (2) Schreibman, L., &amp; Stahmer, A. C. (2014). &quot;A randomized trial comparison of the effects of verbal and pictorial naturalistic communication strategies on spoken language for young children with autism.&quot; &quot;Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,&quot; 44(5), 1244-1251. Appended are: (1) Research details for Hardan et al. (2015); (2) Research details for Schreibman and Stahmer (2014); (3) Group design outcome measures for the communication/language competencies domain; (4) Group design findings included in the rating for the communication/language competencies domain; (5) Group design supplemental subscale findings for the communication/language competencies domain; (6) Group design supplemental follow-up test findings in the communication/language competencies domain; and (7) Single-case design studies that meet WWC pilot standards. WWC rating criteria and a glossary are provided.