The Effectiveness of Pivotal Response Treatment Training for Mothers on the Communication Skills of Children with Non-verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial

 Parents of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regularly seek the support of professionals when the child is diagnosed with ASD.

 This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of pivotal response treatment (PRT) training for mothers in improving the communication skills of ASD children.

 In this double-blind, randomized clinical trial (RCT), 52 mothers of children with ASD were selected and randomly allocated into two groups in 2017 - 2018. The mothers of the intervention group received PRT training, and the children of the intervention and control groups received the applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment. The children's speech/language/communication and socialization scores were measured by the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) before, 1 week after, and 1 month after the intervention.

 Before the intervention, the mean score of speech/language/communication and socialization did not significantly differ between the two groups. However, 1 week and 1 month after the intervention, the mean scores of speech/language/communication and socialization were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.5).

 The results showed that parental training in PRT can provide permanent and effective therapy for children with ASD in the home environment.