Children with ASD who are currently receiving PRT treatment.

Children with ASD who are not currently receiving PRT treatment.

Children without ASD or developmental delay.

Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is an empirically validated behavioral treatment for individuals with ASD that has its foundation in principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis. It was designed to improve social communication skills by addressing core deficits in social motivation or pivotal responses. By working specifically with each child's natural motivations, PRT focuses on naturalistic, functional skills, as opposed to rote skills. In this study, participants randomized to the PRT group will receive 6 hours of direct PRT, across three sessions per week, provided by Dr. Ventola's clinical team. Parents will have an additional one-hour session per week focused on PRT parent training using a practice-with-feedback model. Specific intervention goals in our target population include: Speech to respond to inquiries, Speech to inquire, Speech to comment, Reciprocal conversation, Monitor nonverbal information, and Perspective taking.

A comprehensive laboratory eye-tracking battery will be administered to participants before, at midpoint, and at the end of a 16-week period to assess change over the course of treatment.

Participants will also receive a tablet equipped with eye-tracking paradigms specifically designed for continuous monitoring in homes. Caregivers will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire

Clinical assessments and caregiver surveys will be administered at baseline. A subset of measures will be administered again post-study. Assessments include the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule™ Second Edition (ADOS™-2), Autism Diagnostic Interview™ Revised (ADI™-R), Social Responsiveness Scale™ (SRS™), Repetitive Behaviors Scale - Revised (RBS-R), Differential Ability Scales®-II (DAS-II®), Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales™ Second Edition (Vineland™-II), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).