Effectiveness of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) on the Correct Use of Different Questions in Social Interactions of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Single-Subject Study

Children with autism spectrum disorder use different questions in social interactions in a restricted way. Since asking questions is a pivotal skill which is associated with language skills and learning opportunities, it is crucial to consider this skill as a treatment objective. Accordingly, the present study examined the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) on the correct use of different questions in the context of social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder.

The present study was a single subject study with an A-B design. The population consisted of the children with ASD in Kahrizak maintenance, training, and rehabilitation center in Alborz Province. From this population, three children were selected using purposive sampling method. The research instruments were the diagnosis scale of autism spectrum disorder (ASDDS) and a researcher-made checklist. For this purpose, after the baseline condition, the intervention began and the pivotal response treatment was provided to participants for 10 weeks. The dependent variable (the correct use of different questions in the context of social interaction) was carefully measured by two observers. For data analysis, charting and stability envelop and the process for graphing, using within and between condition analyses, were employed to investigate the effectiveness of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

The mean scores of 39.59, 41.38, and 39.55 for the three participants in the baseline changed to 51.38, 49.71, and 50.61 after the intervention. In the visual analysis of the data graph, the intervention was shown to be effective for all three participants. The percentages of non-overlapping data (PND) in the two baseline and intervention conditions for the three participants were 90, 80, and 90, respectively. This effectiveness remained visible in the follow-up condition.

The results of the current study indicated that the use of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) improves the correct use of different questions in the context of social interaction in children with autism spectrum disorder. Accordingly, this method can be used in training and rehabilitation of this group of children.