Teaching symbolic play skills to children with autism using pivotal response training.
PRT turns autistic preschoolers into creative pretend players in weeks, and the skill sticks for months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Seven autistic preschoolers took part.
Each child got Pivotal Response Training for symbolic play.
Sessions happened at home and at preschool.
Therapists used child-chosen toys and natural rewards.
They taught actions like feeding a doll or flying a plane.
Parents and teachers joined the training.
The team tracked play across toys, places, and people for three months.
What they found
Every child learned new symbolic play.
Their play looked like that of typical peers.
Skills moved to new toys, rooms, and adults.
Gains stayed strong three months later.
Parents saw the kids play more at home too.
How this fits with other research
Rutherford et al. (2007) watched autistic kids grow without help.
They saw big play delays year after year.
That seems to clash with the fast gains here.
The gap is simple: one study watched nature, the other added PRT.
Taylor et al. (1993) said autistic kids can play if we ask them.
This study proves we can teach them to start play on their own.
Eisenhower et al. (2006) used PRT plus drills to teach joint attention.
Their kids also gained extra language and social skills.
Both studies show PRT spreads beyond the target skill.
Why it matters
You can teach real pretend play in weeks, not years.
Pick toys the child already loves.
Use PRT steps: clear cue, child choice, natural reward.
Watch for play to show up with new toys and people.
If it stalls, check joint attention first, then resume play training.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Used Pivotal Response Training (PRT) to teach 7 children with autism to engage in symbolic play behaviors. Symbolic play, complexity of play behavior, and creativity of play were assessed. In addition, generalization measures were obtained across settings, toys, and play partners. Interaction with the play partners and comparison with typical controls were also examined. Results indicated that children with autism rarely exhibited symbolic play before training or after a control condition. After specific symbolic play training using PRT, all of the children learned to perform complex and creative symbolic play actions at levels similar to that of language-matched typical controls. In most cases the children generalized their play to new toys, environments, and play partners and continued to engage in symbolic play behavior after a 3-month follow-up period. In addition, interaction skills improved after training. Treatment implications for these findings are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1995 · doi:10.1007/BF02178500