Effects of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): a Systematic Review

Abstract

Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is suggested to be an effective treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We aimed to compile evidence examining the effectiveness of PRT on social communication, social interaction, and repetitive behavior for children with ASD. We performed a systematic and comprehensive search for relevant trials about PRT. The results are summarized quantitatively and qualitatively. We included five randomized controlled trials suggesting that PRT may have positive effects on expressive language (SMD = 0.48; 95% CI 0.04 to 0.93), social interaction (SMD = 1.12; 95% CI 0.50 to 1.74), and repetitive behavior (SMD = 15.97; 95% CI 11.57 to 20.36). The effect on other outcomes, receptive language, and early learning skills is more uncertain. The quality of the evidence was found to be low. PRT may be associated with advantageous effects, but more high-quality research is needed before we can draw firm conclusions.