Customer Reviews

Pivotal Response Treatment for Autism: Communication, Social, & Academic Development

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This book focuses on behavioral treatments for children with autism. As the subtitle suggests, it covers the three main areas that are challenging for children affected by autism - communication, social, and academic development. While it is written with autism in mind, the techniques are certainly applicable to the spectrum of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). The techniques are rooted in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and are developmentally sensitive. The authors attempt to make the treatments practical and natural (i.e. reinforcers should be tailored to the child's natural environment). I found the section on academic development to be especially helpful. Several pictorial examples of homework were given, and how a parent might make the homework less intimidating (e.g. organizing information, chunking, giving hints, etc.) This book could be used by parents, professionals, and paraprofessionals. I used it in an educational setting, and have not actually tried any of the techniques. But I can say that the interventions are based on sound research, and I expect that they would be effective when applied properly. PRTs for Autism is a complete and accesible book. However, it is not necessarily a motivational book nor one that you would use for an evening of easy reading. It is basically a book that gives detailed treatment techniques. I think this is its strong suit, as I have seen other treatment books and planners that simply give general ideas on how to approach treatment. For a book that is more motivational while still having practical strategies, I recommend another book by one of the co-authors (Lynn Kern Koegel) called Overcoming Autism -- which is geared more specifically towards parents.

I couldn't help but notice that the entire first half of the book was spent defending itself and detailing how wonderful Pivotal Response Treatments are, and yet I've learned very little as to how to implement these treatments. The first chapter is so full of bibliographic information that I could hardly keep track of where each sentence started and ended. I was excited to read about what the parents learned in their training courses, but instead I read nothing but how long each session lasted, where they took place, and what the parents' remarks where. Overcoming Autism was such a gem of hope for me that I was excited to dive into another Koegel book, but I just keep flipping through the pages searching for the part that's going to tell me how to help my son.

Knowledgeably co-authored by Robert L. Koegel (Director of the Koegel Autism Center, University of California, Santa Barbara) and Lynn Kern Koegel (Director of Clinical Services at the Koegel Autism Center) Pivotal Response Treatments For Autism: Communication, Social, And Academic Development is an informed and informative study of the tactics and strategies employed to improve the learning and comprehensive cognitive understanding of autistic children. Exploring ways to improve children's academic performance, advance children's communication and language skills, foster social interactions and friendships with typically developing peers, reduce disruptive behaviors, aid early identification and intervention, and reduce ritualistic behaviors and broaden children's interests, Pivotal Response Treatments For Autism is highly informative and very strongly recommended to all parents, teachers, and counselors of autistic children.

This comprehensive text describes intervention strategies and outcome data related to Pivotal Response Treatments (PRT) for autism. The PRT approach focuses on normalizing child development for children with autism via a delivery model that uses both a developmental approach and applied behavior analysis (ABA). It has demonstrated empirical support in the literature. The chapters are well written and cover a range of topics related to interventions in the general education classroom, parent education programs, communication, social development, and strategies for addressing disruptive behavior. Case examples are also included. The chapter on combining functional assessment and self-management procedures to reduce disruptive behavior should appeal to school-based professionals such as school psychologists, special educators, and other support personnel. Overall, the text succeeds in describing an integrated and comprehensive approach to the treatment of autism. Those without experience or background in autism related research and practice might find some portions of the text to be a challenging read.

A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism and Asperger Syndrome