ERIC Number: EJ1481032
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Sep
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3432
Available Date: 2024-06-07
Implementing Pivotal Response Treatment to Teach Question Asking to High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Jennifer S. Kowitt1,3; Joseph Madaus1; Brandi Simonsen1; Jennifer Freeman1; Allison Lombardi4; Pamela Ventola2
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v55 n9 p3065-3077 2025
The purpose of this study was to test the use of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) in the secondary school setting. There were two main goals: (a) to evaluate secondary education providers' ability to implement PRT with fidelity following a PRT training program; and (b) to evaluate the effects of school-implemented PRT on the social communication skills of adolescents and young adults with ASD, specifically, question-asking behavior. This concurrent multiple baseline design study across dyads investigated the use of PRT in the secondary school setting with adolescents with ASD. Specifically, it examined the impact of PRT on question-asking behavior. Education providers (n = 3) were trained to implement PRT with a secondary student with ASD. All education providers improved in their ability to use PRT strategies, though struggled with fidelity. Two students exhibited clear effects with noteworthy improvement in their use of targeted question initiations. For targeted question initiations, the weighted value for the Tau-U phase contrast between aggregated baseline and intervention phases was 0.80 and statistically significant (p < 0.0001). PRT is a promising approach to increasing question-asking behavior in secondary students with ASD when implemented by a trained education provider. Continued research should be a matter of priority in order to expand social skills instruction for adolescents with ASD with the hope of ultimately making a positive difference in adult outcomes.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Questioning Techniques, High School Students, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Behavior Modification, Program Implementation, Fidelity, Interpersonal Communication, Adolescents, Outcomes of Treatment
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Connecticut, Department of Educational Psychology, Storrs, USA; 2Yale University, Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, USA; 3University of Saint Joseph, Department of Education, West Hartford, USA; 4University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, Madison, USA

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