Spanish-Language Autism Early Intervention Workshops: Evaluating Outcomes of a Translated Pivotal Response Treatment...

Early intervention efforts can be transformative for young children with autism, and parent involvement is an increasingly common component of many contemporary treatment models linked to enhanced long-term social communication and developmental outcomes. However, Spanish-speaking families face language barriers that limit opportunities to be trained in these strategies, directly contributing to disparities in their children's developmental outcomes. This study aims to address this barrier by exploring the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a Spanish-translated and adapted pivotal response treatment (PRT) early intervention model.

Using a multiple baseline across participant experimental design, the primary objective of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of ongoing participation in a Spanish PRT workshop on parent fidelity (mastery) of treatment implementation and child verbal responses using behavioral coding and parent-report measures. The study included three children with autism aged 18-60 months and their caregiver(s). Parents completed questionnaires, four PRT instructional lessons, and six in-person coaching sessions. Parent-child interaction videos were recorded at intake and after each in-person session to monitor participant process.

All participants met fidelity of implementation criteria (>80%) for the PRT strategies, demonstrating the ability to successfully implement the core intervention components. Parents also reported improvements in their self-perceived (a) comprehension of the PRT principles and (b) confidence in applying them effectively. Lastly, children demonstrated improvements in the frequency of their verbal responses.

These results suggest that the Spanish adaptation of PRT can effectively teach parents to understand and implement basic PRT components and facilitate language development in their autistic children.