Autism

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2005, Vol. 73, No. 3, 525–538

Copyright 2005 by the American Psychological Association 0022-006X/05/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.525

Individual Behavioral Profiles and Predictors of Treatment Effectiveness for Children With Autism
Michelle R. Sherer and Laura Schreibman
University of California, San Diego
Differential responsiveness to intervention programs suggests the inadequacy of a single treatment approach for all children with autism. One method for reducing outcome variability is to identify participant characteristics associated with different outcomes for a specific intervention. In this investigation, an analysis of archival data yielded 2 distinct behavioral profiles for responders and nonresponders to a widely used behavioral intervention, pivotal response training (PRT). In a prospective study, these profiles were used to select 6 children (3 predicted responders and 3 predicted nonresponders) who received PRT. Children with pretreatment responder profiles evidenced positive changes on a range of outcome variables. Children with pretreatment nonresponder profiles did not exhibit improvements. These results offer promise for the development of individualized treatment protocols for children with autism. Keywords: autism, behavioral treatment, behavioral profiles, individualized treatment, pivotal response training

Initially identified by Kanner (1943), autism remains a perplexing disorder that results in significant lifelong disability for most affected individuals (e.g., Gillberg, 1990; Rogers, 1998). However, a substantial number of children who have received intensive behavioral treatment during the preschool years have shown remarkable improvement (see reviews by Erba, 2000; Smith, 1999). The early intervention research that has generated the greatest amount of interest has been Lovaas’s (1987) Early Intervention Project. In this investigation, 19 children with autism received intensive

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