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This week I observed Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) being performed for the first time in a session and it was quite the learning experience!
My morning began with an interesting twist to what I was expecting. Instead of going outside to watch therapy sessions with the clinicians, I watched parent-training live with the help of a camera. As the clinicians interacted with the parents and kids, I observed through a screen. Because of this, I was able to learn in an nice environment without having any distractions or being a distraction to the parents or kids myself. The parents use the camera to watch PRT as well, and were informed that a intern was watching them.
During the session, the clinician showed the parents different ways to use PRT treatment with their child. The parents were first asked to follow their child’s lead and allow them to freely select toys from the classroom without any regulation. The child in this example wanted to play with a ball. After a few minutes of free playing, the parent and the clinician tried to identify what the child liked about the ball. The clinician asked questions like “What is it about the ball that motivates her?” and “What does she want to do with the ball?”. After the parents had identified that, which in this case was that the child loved the way the ball bounced up and down, they were asked to slowly gain control of that preferred aspect of the object. So the parents began to bounce the ball up and down as well and would only let go until the child said “my turn" or "ball please". In this way the child was only given access to the motivating object or activity until they gave a verbal response. After a response was given, the parent would quickly give the child back what they desired and the process would start all over again.
With each child the activity or preference of toy was different and the process was modified to fit their likes and dislikes. At the end of the session, the clinician offered ways to utilize PRT at home and in everyday situations.
Although I have only been onsite for a few weeks, I have learned many different things and observed all kinds of interactions and behaviors. If you have any questions about the sessions or the process, feel free to leave a comment!
This week I observed Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) being performed for the first time in a session and it was quite the learning experience!
My morning began with an interesting twist to what I was expecting. Instead of going outside to watch therapy sessions with the clinicians, I watched parent-training live with the help of a camera. As the clinicians interacted with the parents and kids, I observed through a screen. Because of this, I was able to learn in an nice environment without having any distractions or being a distraction to the parents or kids myself. The parents use the camera to watch PRT as well, and were informed that a intern was watching them.
During the session, the clinician showed the parents different ways to use PRT treatment with their child. The parents were first asked to follow their child’s lead and allow them to freely select toys from the classroom without any regulation. The child in this example wanted to play with a ball. After a few minutes of free playing, the parent and the clinician tried to identify what the child liked about the ball. The clinician asked questions like “What is it about the ball that motivates her?” and “What does she want to do with the ball?”. After the parents had identified that, which in this case was that the child loved the way the ball bounced up and down, they were asked to slowly gain control of that preferred aspect of the object. So the parents began to bounce the ball up and down as well and would only let go until the child said “my turn" or "ball please". In this way the child was only given access to the motivating object or activity until they gave a verbal response. After a response was given, the parent would quickly give the child back what they desired and the process would start all over again.
With each child the activity or preference of toy was different and the process was modified to fit their likes and dislikes. At the end of the session, the clinician offered ways to utilize PRT at home and in everyday situations.
Although I have only been onsite for a few weeks, I have learned many different things and observed all kinds of interactions and behaviors. If you have any questions about the sessions or the process, feel free to leave a comment!
This project sounds really interesting! So, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is one of the ways to treat Autism. I know it has been shown to not be as effective in the past. How effective do you think it is now?
ReplyDeletePRT is a part of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) which is the most widely used form of Autism therapy. I'll go into the details of ABA next week. I believe that the "effectiveness" of a therapy for Autism depends on the family or caregiver. If they believe that their child is benefiting from a treatment, then it can be considered effective for that family. Every child learns different and responds differently to each situation, and that is what makes this process so interesting!
DeleteI agree that effectiveness depends on family or caregiver.
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