Comparison of The Effect of Training Pivotal Response Treatment Principles and Training Theory of mind Principles on Executive Functions in kids with autism spectrum disorder

This study aimed to compare the effect of training pivotal response treatment principles and training Theory of mind principles on executive functions in kids with autism disorder. The method was half- experimental with pre-test, post-test with control group. The statistical population consisted children with autism disorder in Lahijan city. After assessing, 45 child between 6-13 years old were chosen and then randomly divided into three groups of 15, two intervention groups and a control group.Data collection tool was BRIFF executive functions questionnaire which was completed by parents For the first intervention group, the Pivotal response treatment in 7 sessions and for the second group Theory of Mind principals were taught in 10 sessions and the control group did not receive any training.At the end of training post-test was conducted. Data were analyzed using multivariate covariance (MANCOVA) analysis. The findings showed that intervention groups were significantly different in the post-test, compared to the control group in executive function. The rate of executive functions incerease after intervention and the size of this increase was higher in the theory of mind training group. The result showed that theory of mind training has great effect than PRT training on increasing self-differentiation (P<0/01). The result of LSD test shows the difference between the effectiveness of mind reading and response-oriented therapy on behavior regulation (P <0.01) and metacognition (P <0.01) in children. There is a statistically significant. The results showed that the scores of the intervention groups were significantly different from the control group in the scale of executive functions. Executive functions increased after the interventions and this increase was more in the mind reading group. Findings showed that mind reading training has a greater effect on increasing executive functions than response therapy training. The use of these two methods is recommended to therapists, psychologists and educators who work to educate children with autism.