What Parents Need to Know about Pivotal Response Therapy

Pivotal response therapy (PRT) is an empirically supported comprehensive behavioral treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that focuses on pivotal areas of a person’s development, rather than treating individual behaviors one at time. First developed in the 1970s, PRT is now widely used as an intervention treatment for children with ASD and related disorders. Here are the answers to some common questions parents have about PRT.  

What does pivotal response therapy target?  

PRT is intended to address pivotal areas of development, including a child’s motivation, responses to multiple cues, the child monitoring his/her own behavior, and the ability to initiate interactions with other people. By targeting these important areas, PRT results in improvements in other social, communicative, and behavioral areas that are not specifically targeted. PRT utilizes motivational strategies to increase child engagement in learning such as child choice, task variation, interspersing already learned tasks with new tasks, reinforcing the child for reasonable attempts, and using direct and natural reinforcers.  With PRT the child plays an essential role in determining the activities and objects that will be used in treatment.  The goal of the therapy is to utilize the motivational strategies to engage the child in learning and provide positive reinforcement to increase skill development.  

Who can provide pivotal response therapy?  

PRT can be provided to a child by a number of different specialists, including behavior analysts, behavior technicians under the direction of a behavior analyst, psychologists, teachers, instructional assistants, and speech and language therapists.  Because PRT is a naturalistic intervention, meaning it is done in the child’s natural environment, parents themselves can also learn to apply PRT within their family’s everyday routine. Parents can create learning opportunities at home that will help to reinforce the skill development that is being taught during therapy sessions. 

Is pivotal response therapy right for my child? 
Every child’s needs are different, so an individualized approach should be taken to providing treatment to any child who has ASD. However, it’s possible that PRT could be an effective therapy for your child. PRT has proven to be especially helpful in encouraging children to develop stronger social and verbal communication skills.  Additionally, it’s been shown to be effective in teaching play and academic skills and decreasing disruptive/self-stimulatory behaviors. 

STAR of CA offers a wide range of services, including individualized therapy, for children who have ASD and other developmental disorders. We use evidence-based treatments, and we are continually working to improve and expand our services. Our team has been serving Ventura and nearby communities since we opened our doors in May 2006.  We provide services to San Jose,  To learn more about our behavioral intervention services, call (805) 644-7827 today. 

The ABCs of DTT

Discrete trial teaching (DTT) is an approach to teaching skills that works by breaking them down into the smallest component possible.  Skills are taught as discrete behaviors and then linked together to create a larger behavior. If you have a child who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), then you may want to become familiar with how DTT works.  

In very simplistic terms, the parent or therapist presents an SD (cue) i.e., “show me blue”.  The child is then expected to respond to the cue (hopefully [as in the scenario above] by selecting blue).  The parent or therapist then provides a consequence to the behavior i.e., redirection (try again) if they select the incorrect answer) or verbal praise i.e., that’s right, nice job if they choose the correct answer.  For example, if the child carries out the request, then the parent or therapist can provide positive reinforcement to encourage that response in the future.  

If you’re looking for evidence-based ASD therapy in the greater Ventura area, call STAR of CA today. Our compassionate and caring team will be happy to provide you and your family with the integrated, up-to-date ASD services you need. You can reach us at (805) 644-7827.  

Learn What Adults with ASD Wish You Knew in this Video Clip

Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is one of the most common developmental disorders in the world. It’s also one of the most widely misunderstood. There are numerous misconceptions about ASD, especially as it manifests in adults. For example, many people wonder if they should behave differently if they know that a person has ASD. In this video, adults with ASD share some things that they wish more people understood about the condition.  

At STAR of CA, our team uses evidence-based treatments to provide much-needed help for families who are dealing with the challenges of an ASD diagnosis. If you are in search of resources for ASD and other developmental disorders in the Ventura area, you can reach us today at (805) 644-7827.  

Exploring the Three Severity Levels of Autism

As you probably already know, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) varies significantly from person to person. As its name suggests, the condition exists on a spectrum, and a person who has ASD may require little to no therapy, moderate therapy, or extensive therapy. To help determine what the best approach is for providing assistance to someone with ASD, an individual with a diagnosis often gets designated with one of three severity levels. These levels offer guidance on the amount of support a person with the condition may require.  

Level 1 “Requiring Support” 

Individuals who receive a diagnostic designation of Level 1 require a minor to moderate amount of support. For example, these individuals may be conversational but have trouble initiating social interactions or may exhibit unsuccessful responses to social overtures from others. These individuals may also have difficulties with organization or switching between activities to an extent that interferes with their daily functioning.  

Level 2 “Requiring Substantial Support” 

Individuals designated with a Level 2 severity are considered to need a substantial amount of support. For instance, these individuals might manifest clear restricted or repetitive behaviors, and their social interactions may be highly limited to certain interests or may be marked with deficits in both verbal and nonverbal communication skills. They may have difficulty in adapting to changes in their routine, and they might show obvious distress in response to changes.  

Level 3 “Requiring Very Substantial Support” 

Individuals who receive a Level 3 severity designation require an intensive level of support. These individuals usually have very limited social and communication skills, and they may be extremely agitated by changes to their schedule or a new environment. These individuals generally require extensive therapy and supervision.  

If you’re looking for the support you and your loved ones need to live with ASD, it’s time to reach out to STAR of CA. We offer a wide array of essential behavioral and psychological services to individuals and families. If you have any questions about our services, feel free to contact us today at (805) 644-7827.