Pivotal Response Training
As you may have guessed from reading the previous sections, there are many combinations of antecedent-based interventions and consequence-based interventions that you can use to make a behavior more likely to happen. Parents typically use antecedents such as instructions. For example, a parent says, “Clean up your toys, please.” The child is more likely to do so following the instruction than doing so on his own accord. After the child follows the instruction, the parent might offer a consequence such as praise, “Thanks for listening to Mommy. Now we can go outside to the swings!” The clear instruction, verbal praise, and access to a preferred activity all work to increase the child’s compliance. Many intervention packages do the same thing: they combine strategies to maximize a learner’s progress. Behavior analysts who researched various teaching strategies were able to identify some of the most powerful ones. Then, they combined them into a package called Pivotal Response Training (PRT). PRT is a set of instructional strategies that can increase a learner’s motivation and teach important skills. For learners with autism, this effect is extremely important. Oftentimes, learners with autism are not motivated to participate in social or educational interactions. When learners are motivated, they can learn so much more. PRT incorporates strategies that help parents and teachers make the most of the learner’s skills and choices in everyday settings. Also, parents can learn how to use PRT during instructional time and throughout daily activities.
Furthermore, PRT targets skills that are important and useful in many activities. For example, PRT can build a set of behaviors such as imitation, compliance, and communication. There are seven (7) main points to remember: The question/instruction/opportunity to respond should: 1. Be clear, uninterrupted, and appropriate to the task 2. Be interspersed with maintenance tasks (tasks the learner can already do with ease) 3. Be chosen by the child, to a large extent (watch what the child is looking at, pointing to, or touching and use those items) 4. Include multiple components (such as the ‘blue block’ or the ‘red ball’) Reinforcers should be: 5. Contingent upon the behavior (only when the behavior is performed and not when the behavior is not performed) 6. Administered following any attempts to respond (shaping) 7. Related to the desired behavior (such as giving bubbles when the child says “open” while twisting the jar of bubbles instead of giving a food item as a reward) You will find many examples of how to use these strategies in How to Teach Pivotal Behaviors to Children with Autism: A Training Manual. Overall, these lessons
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ABA Principles & Methods
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