Koegel PRT pocket guide intro.pdf

The PRT Pocket Guide

Pivotal Response Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders

by Robert L. Koegel, Ph.D. and Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D. Koegel Autism Center University of California, Santa Barbara with invited contributor

Contents

  1. About the Authors
  2. For the Reader
  3. Preface
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Introduction

I What Is the P in PRT?

  1. Treatment of Pivotal Areas.
  2. How to Teach the Pivotal Area of Motivation.
  3. How to Get Rid of Disruptive Behavior.
  4. How to Teach the Pivotal Area of Self-Initiation.

II How and When to Implement Treatment

  1. Maximizing Family Involvement.
  2. How to Minimize Parent Stress.
  3. Treatment and Assessment in Natural Environments.
  4. Making Data Collection Easy in PRT.

References
Index

About the Authors

Robert L. Koegel, Ph.D.

has focused his career in the area of autism, specializing in language intervention, family support, and school inclusion. Dr. Robert L. Koegel is Director of the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has published more than 200 articles and papers relating to the treatment of autism, and has published six books on the treatment of autism and positive behavioral support.

Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D.

is Director of Clinical Services at the Koegel Autism Center and Director of the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Center for Asperger’s Research. She has been active in the development of programs to improve communication in children with autism, including the development of first words, grammatical structures, pragmatics, and social conversation. She has developed procedures and field manuals in the area of self-management and functional analysis that are used in school districts and by parents throughout the United States.

Introduction

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is one of the few evidence-based approaches for the treatment of autism. This approach is supported by research that meets the standards set by many professional agencies and organizations. Supporting children and families affected by autism is a race against time. Families can’t afford to repeatedly go up blind alleys with treatment procedures that sound good but have no evidence to support their effectiveness. PRT focuses on core underlying areas that are critical for children with autism, particularly motivation to engage in social communication.

Key Points:

  1. Empirical Evidence: Empirical evidence separates effective interventions from ineffective ones and is essential in ensuring treatments are scientifically sound.
  2. Insurance and Legal Repercussions: Treatments lacking scientific support are increasingly being denied by insurance companies and can lead to legal issues for practitioners.
  3. Evolution of Techniques: PRT methods continue to evolve, incorporating new findings for more effective teaching.
  4. Practical Implementation: The book presents scientifically based intervention procedures that are easy and fun to implement and produce valuable treatment gains for children with autism.