Pivotal Response Intervention Minimal Responders Study

Early intervention (EI) using naturalistic behavioural methods have shown benefits for the development of communication and other skills for young children with autism spectrum disorder. The publicly funded autism EI program in Nova Scotia (NS) is based on such a method, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), and pre-post studies indicate benefits for children and families. However, not all children benefit equally. In this study, the investigators test the efficacy of a brief parent-mediated intervention designed to prime responsivity to PRT in children with a minimal responder profile derived from previous studies of the PRT-based EI program.