NCT04042337Completed
Improving Access to Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) Via Telehealth Parent Training
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 17 Nov 2025
Brief summary (registry, in English)
There is an urgent need for improved access to effective autism treatments. With advances in technology, distance learning models have particular promise for families who cannot access evidence-based parent training locally or may be on long wait-lists for behavioral treatments. Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is an established treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, a telehealth PRT model has not yet been evaluated in a controlled trial. This study will examine the effects of training parents in PRT via secure video conferencing and investigate 1) whether parents can learn via telehealth to deliver PRT in the home setting (PRT-T) and 2) whether their children will show greater improvement in functional communication skills compared to children in a waitlist control group. Participants will include 40 children age 2 to 5 years with ASD and significant language delay. Eligible children will be randomly assigned to either PRT-T (N=20) or waiting list (N=20). Weekly 60-minute parent training sessions will be delivered for 12 weeks via secure video conferencing software by a PRT-trained study therapist. The effects of PRT-T on parent fidelity of PRT implementation, child communication deficits including frequency of functional verbal utterances, and parent-report of communication skills on standardized questionnaires will be evaluated. This research will provide a foundation for wider dissemination of technology-based solutions to improve access to ASD treatment.
- Status (registry)
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 101 (actual)
- First submitted
- 30 Jul 2019
- Start date
- 13 Apr 2020
- Primary completion date
- 29 Oct 2025
- Lead sponsor
- Stanford University
- Diseases
- Autism
- NCT number
- NCT04042337
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Participants enrolled: 101
- From 13 Apr 2020 to the primary completion date, 29 Oct 2025
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- children who have a primary language other than English, b) parent or child diagnosed with severe psychiatric disorder or unstable medical problem, c) child participating in \>15 hours per week of 1:1 ABA treatment at home, d) unstable medical condition such as severe seizures, e) Severe behavioral difficulties (e.g., self-injury or aggression that could present a safety risk to the child or family members during implementation of the intervention), f) previous adequate trial of pivotal response treatment, or g) living within 200 miles of Stanford University.
Age in the registry: 2 years to 5 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Stanford | United States | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.