Overview

The purpose of this study is to identify improvement in behavioral and social function and changes in the brain following Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents in highly verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, higher functioning/low support needs
• Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Participants with a Full Scale IQ > 80 on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II)
• Right-handed
• No metal in their body/unremovable metal on their body (i.e., braces)
• First language is English
• Must live in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Able and willing to receive intervention weekly for 9 weeks
• Adolescent is interested in improving their social skills
• MRI Compatibility: No major contraindication for MRI.
• Diagnosis of ASD using ADOS-2 and ADI-R.
• No evidence of a genetic, metabolic, or infectious etiology for their autism.
• Primary diagnosis of ASD
• No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate neonatal period.
• Stable treatment (e.g., ABA), speech therapy, school placement, psychotropic medication(s) or biomedical intervention(s) for at least 1 month prior to baseline measurements with no anticipated changes during study participation.
• Score of at least 50% or below on at least 4 out of the 9 social target areas in the SLO (administered during pre-measures)
• No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate neonatal period.

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of claustrophobia, previous head injury, serious neurological or medical illness, birth weight less than 4 lb. and/or gestational age < 34 weeks
• Left-handed
• Braces or any metal in their body