Lynn Kern Koegel

Recent research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may now be reliably identified in later infancy, highlighting the need for empirically-validated interventions for infants and toddlers with early symptoms of ASD. Using a multiple baseline design across 15- to 21-month-old toddlers, this study implemented a brief, parent-mediated, Pivotal Response Treatment program, focusing on improving expressive communication. The results indicated that verbal communication improved as a consequence of the intervention, with concomitant improvements in untreated areas for all participants. Following the intervention, symptoms of autism decreased and parents reported satisfaction with the program’s ease of implementation and observed child gains. The results are discussed in terms of developing very early interventions to improve developmental trajectories for infants and toddlers.

Increasing numbers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are entering postsecondary education; however, many report feeling lonely and isolated. These difficulties with socialization have been found to impact students’ academic success, involvement within the university, and overall well being. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess, within the context of a multiple-baseline across participants design, whether a structured social planning intervention would increase social integration for college students with ASD. The intervention consisted of weekly meetings to plan social activities around the student with ASD's interests, improve organizational skills, and target specific social skills. Additionally, each participant had a peer mentor for support during the social activities. The results showed that following intervention all participants increased their number of community-based social events, extracurricular activities, and peer interactions. Furthermore, participants improved in their academic performance and satisfaction with their college experience. Results are discussed in regards to developing specialized programs to assist college students with ASD.

The literature suggests that many individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience challenges with recognizing and describing emotions in others, which may result in difficulties with the verbal expression of empathy during communication. Thus, there is a need for intervention techniques targeting this area. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, this study examined the effectiveness of a video-feedback intervention with a visual framework component to improve verbal empathetic statements and questions during conversation for adults with ASD. Following intervention, all participants improved in verbal expression of empathetic statements and empathetic questions during conversation with generalization and maintenance of gains. Furthermore, supplemental assessments indicated that each participant improved in their general level of empathy and confidence in communication skills.

Children with autism often demonstrate disruptive behaviors during demanding teaching tasks. Language intervention can be particularly difficult as it involves social and communicative areas, which are challenging for this population. The purpose of this study was to compare two intervention conditions, a naturalistic approach, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) with an adult-directed ABA approach on disruptive behavior during language intervention in the public schools. A randomized clinical trial design was used with two groups of children, matched according to age, sex and mean length of utterance. The data showed that the children demonstrated significantly lower levels of disruptive behavior during the PRT condition. The results are discussed with respect to antecedent manipulations that may be helpful in reducing disruptive behavior.

Accumulating studies are documenting specific motivational variables that, when combined into a naturalistic teaching paradigm, can positively influence the effectiveness of interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to compare two applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention procedures, a naturalistic approach, pivotal response treatment (PRT) with a structured ABA approach in a school setting. A randomized clinical trial design using two groups of children, matched according to age, sex and mean length of utterance was used to compare the interventions. The data showed that the PRT approach was significantly more effective in improving targeted and untargeted areas after 3 months of intervention. The results are discussed in terms of variables that produce more rapid improvements in communication for children with ASD.