A Center Based Study of Pivotal Response Treatment for Preschoolers With Autism (PRT-C)

June 22, 2026 updated by: Antonio Hardan, Stanford University

A Center Based Randomized Controlled Trial of Pivotal Response Treatment for Preschoolers With Autism

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of pivotal response training (PRT) in an intensive center-based environment to treat social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of pivotal response training (PRT) in an intensive center-based preschool environment to treat social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study will compare Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) to a delayed treatment group (DTG). PRT is a naturalistic behavioral intervention based on the principles of applied behavior analysis which has shown to be effective in treating the core deficits in children with ASD. The study will compare the combination of parent training with intensive center-based PRT (PRT-C) to a DTG and will include 44 children ages 2 to 3.11 years with ASD and social communication deficits.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

75

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Stanford University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

2 years to 3 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) based on clinical interview and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5) and confirmed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2) or Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS-2); Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5), and expert clinical opinion
  • Boys and girls between 2 years and 3 years and 11 months
  • Ability to participate in the testing procedures to the extent that valid standard scores can be obtained
  • Stable treatment (e.g., applied behavior analysis (ABA), speech therapy, psychotropic medication(s) or biomedical intervention(s) for at least 1 month prior to baseline measurements with no anticipated changes during study participation
  • Developmentally delayed with Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) or Developmental Profile (DP-4) composite score below 85 (1 Standard Deviation below the mean)
  • Availability of at least one English-speaking parent who can consistently participate in parent training and research measures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current or lifetime diagnosis of severe psychiatric disorder (e.g., bipolar disorder, etc.)
  • Presence of active medical problem (e.g., unstable seizure disorder or heart disease)
  • Child primary language other than English
  • Previous adequate trial of Pivotal Response Treatment
  • More than 15 hours per week of in-home applied behavior analysis (ABA).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intensive Center-Based Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT-C)
Intensive Center-Based Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT-C) will consist of a combination of one weekly 60-minute individual parent training session and 12 weekly hours ( 3 hours per day for 4 days per week) with the child in center-based therapy environment for a total of 13 weekly treatment hours.
Behavioral: Intensive Center-Based Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT-C)
Intensive Center-Based Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT-C) will consist of a combination of weekly individual parent training sessions and center-based therapy for a total of 13 weekly treatment hours.
No Intervention: Delayed Treatment Group (DTG)
Delayed Treatment Group will consist of treatment as usual. At the end of controlled phase, participants in the DTG will be offered PRT-C in a preschool setting in an open-label fashion with a design similar to the double-blind phase.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Mean Change from baseline on the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 Total Score at 12 Weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12
Baseline and Week 12
Mean change from baseline on the Brief Observation of Communication Change (BOSCC) total score at 12 Weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12
Baseline and Week 12
Mean change from baseline on the frequency if the child's functional utterances on the structured lab observation at 12 Weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12
Baseline and Week 12

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Mean change from baseline on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales 3rd Edition Socialization subscale at 12 Weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12
Baseline and Week 12
Mean change from baseline on the MacArthur-Bates Communication Development Inventory at 12 Weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12
Baseline and Week 12

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Stanford University

Collaborators

John & Marcia Goldman Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Antonio Y. Hardan, MD, Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 13, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 28, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

March 28, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 15, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 15, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

December 19, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 22, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-49033

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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