Naturalistic Strategies in Autism Treatment: The Latest Research on Pivotal Response Training

Laura Schreibman, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Psychology,
Director of the Autism Research Project,
University of California, San Diego
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Dr. Schreibman will present on recent research into the use of natural environment teaching techniques in autism treatment. She will focus on a specific naturalistic behavioral strategy, Pivotal Response Training (PRT), which has been demonstrated to effectively promote spontaneity, social initiations, and to facilitate the generalization of new skills. She will discuss the background of PRT, describe what it is and how to do it, and present research findings and current research directions. Dr. Schreibman will also address research on the following important topics in autism treatment:

• The need to individualize autism treatment approaches to fit the child’s learning profile.
• The potential of school age children with ASD to continue learning after age six.
• The positive role that trained parents and peers can play in autism treatment.