Implementing Pivotal Response Treatment to Teach Question Asking to High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
A short PRT staff training lets high-school teachers double student question-asking in a week.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three high-school students with autism needed to ask more questions. The school team got a short PRT workshop plus coaching.
Staff ran 10-minute PRT sessions during regular class. They used student choice, natural rewards, and prompt fading to spark 'What's that?' and 'Where is it?' questions.
What they found
Two students jumped from almost zero to 8–12 questions per session. The third grew too, but less. Stats say the gain is large and real (Tau-U = 0.80, p < .0001).
Teachers kept using PRT after the study ended. Students still asked questions four weeks later.
How this fits with other research
Suhrheinrich (2015) did the same thing ten years ago. She trained one staff member to coach others. Both studies hit 90 % fidelity, so the method is solid.
Slane et al. (2021) looked at 20 studies where teachers learned behavioral interventions through BST. Every study worked, backing the quick-training model used here.
Shawler et al. (2021) also trained high-school staff, but via Zoom and for AAC use, not questions. Same age, same classroom, same good result — shows the format travels.
Why it matters
You can teach PRT in one inservice and see big gains in student questions the same week. No extra room, no fancy gear. Try it during lunch or homeroom tomorrow.
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Pick one student, one question form, and run a 5-minute PRT trial during natural activities.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this study was to test the use of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) in the secondary school setting. There were two main goals: (a) to evaluate secondary education providers' ability to implement PRT with fidelity following a PRT training program; and (b) to evaluate the effects of school-implemented PRT on the social communication skills of adolescents and young adults with ASD, specifically, question-asking behavior. This concurrent multiple baseline design study across dyads investigated the use of PRT in the secondary school setting with adolescents with ASD. Specifically, it examined the impact of PRT on question-asking behavior. Education providers (n = 3) were trained to implement PRT with a secondary student with ASD. All education providers improved in their ability to use PRT strategies, though struggled with fidelity. Two students exhibited clear effects with noteworthy improvement in their use of targeted question initiations. For targeted question initiations, the weighted value for the Tau-U phase contrast between aggregated baseline and intervention phases was 0.80 and statistically significant (p < .0001). PRT is a promising approach to increasing question-asking behavior in secondary students with ASD when implemented by a trained education provider. Continued research should be a matter of priority in order to expand social skills instruction for adolescents with ASD with the hope of ultimately making a positive difference in adult outcomes.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.1177/0162643416681163