Pivotal Response Training: A Naturalistic Approach to Applied Behavioral Analysis

Pivotal Response Training for autism is an evidence-based intervention that helps create positive behavioral changes in children with developmental delays.

Dr. Stephen Shore once said “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.”  As many of you know, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there are now 1 in 68 children living with autism in the United States.  What this means for each child and his/her family is unique to him/her.  Luckily however, there is a treatment that has been shown time and time again to improve the quality of life for children with autism and his/her family.  The treatment I am referring to is one that is based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).  A well-designed treatment that is based on ABA would assess a child with autism to find out his/her unique strengths and areas of need.  A program would build upon those strengths and teach the skills that he/she may need to learn.  The ultimate goal is to improve quality of life with an emphasis on socially significant skills.  Things like social skills, life skills, communication skills and other skills that would make it easier for him/her to navigate the real world.  All of this programming is designed using cutting edge research, includes tracking systems to monitor how the student is doing, and is implemented by well-trained therapists.  Because it is the gold standard in treatment for children with autism, ABA  is in high demand and it may be difficult to make a decision as to which provider you should ultimately choose for your very precious child.  The purpose of this article is to help parents in the process of selecting an appropriate ABA provider for his/her child.