Effects of Parent and Teacher Mediated Pivotal Response Treatment and Discrete-Trial Training in Improving Communication Skills of Children with Autism

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of parent and teacher-mediated pivotal response treatment and discrete-trial teaching in improving the communication skills of children with Autism. The research deployed an ABAB research design. ABAB was divided into 4 phases; A1, B1, A2, and B2. A1 was a baseline, B1 was treatment, A2 was the removal of the treatment, and B2 was the treatment resumed following the break, and at last, a follow-up was conducted. In the study, three children who fulfilled the inclusionary criteria participated. The three children received PRT and DTT from their parents and teachers respectively. The instruments used for assessment were social communication questionnaire-Lifetime, Autism diagnostic interview-revised, and Vineland -3 Adaptive behavioral scale (communication domain). The study result indicated that Parent and Teacher mediated PRT and DTT significantly improved the communication skills of children with ASD.