Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is pivotal response intervention (PRI) appropriate for my 12-year-old son with autism?

A: While PRI has typically been researched with preschool and early-elementary students, it can be adapted for use with older individuals. Click here for details.

Q: Is there training or a manual to help me learn how to do PRI?

A: Workshops and presentations are conducted by Robert and Lynn Koegel and their colleagues and students at the University of California at Santa Barbara. They also sell (at cost) a manual on the topic. See the website for the UCSB Autism Research and Training Center (http://www.education.ucsb.edu/autism/)for more information.

Q: Is there much research on this intervention?

A: Unlike many interventions promoted for use with individuals with ASD, PRI does have some research backing. See here for details.

Q: Is PRI considered a “program” for kids with ASD?

A: PRI is a group of strategies that may be used to increase independent responding of children with autism and related disabilities. It is not a “program;” however, it may be implemented as one key approach within a comprehensive program.

Q: What is it about PRI that makes it so useful?

A: PRI was developed to address the problem of having to teach children skills in miniscule detail, which takes a great deal of time. Instead, the idea behind PRI is that children will gain some independent learning skills and learn to respond to naturally-occurring cues in their environments. This is thought to make instruction more efficient and decrease dependence on service providers and others See here for details.