Examination of Studies Targeting Social Skills with Pivotal Response Treatment

Abstract

In early education, especially in effective teaching to children with autism spectrum disorders, the teaching methods which are applicable in natural settings like pivotal response treatment (PRT) are commonly used. It is one of the naturalistic intervention models aiming to facilitate the stimulant-response generalization, decrease the dependency on cues and increase the motivation of the individual. Interventions with PRT are derived from the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). By identifying and targeting pivotal skills, which can be critical in the achievement of many areas, developers of this treatment intended to result in improvements in other areas that are not specifically targeted. Accordingly, primary areas of PRT are; (i) motivation, (ii) responsivity to multiple cues, (iii) self-management, (iv) self-initiations and (v) empathy. The purpose of this study is to examine the studies targeting social skills with the use of PRT. The study is a qualitative analysis of other studies. Studies are analyzed according to the criteria set by the researchers. 23 studies obtained meeting the pre-set criteria. Examining the social skills targeted, 35% of the studies were on play initiations, 35% were on initiating conversations and social interactions and 13% were on initiating and continuation of joint attention. In 70% of the studies, researchers explained the reason for choosing the specific social skills they have targeted. Information on social validity was present in only 25% of the studies, which is far below the usual for studies focusing on the improvement of social skills.