Prompting

The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders (NPDC) initially reviewed the research literature on evidence-based, focused intervention practices in 2008. A second, more comprehensive review was completed by NPDC in 2013.

• A total of 27 EBPs are identified in the current review.
• Of the 27 practices, 10 practices that met criteria had participants in the infant and toddler age group, thus showing effectiveness of the practice with infants and toddlers with ASD.

The practices were identified as evidence-based when at least two high quality group design studies, five single case design, or a combination of one group design and three single case designed studies showed that the practice was effective. The full report is available on the NPDC on ASD website.

Prompting meets the evidence-based practice criteria in all age groups (birth to twenty one) with 1 group design and 32 single case design studies. For the infant and toddler age group, one single-subject design study included toddlers with autism and demonstrated positive outcomes in promoting the development of pretend play behaviors (Barton, E. E. & Wolery, M., 2010). In addition, 14 studies included preschool children. Prompting procedures can be used effectively to address social, communication, behavior, joint attention, play, school-readiness, motor, adaptive, and, for older learners, academic and vocational skills. A complete list of the evidence base for children aged birth to five is included in the resource section.

Refer to the Prompting Fact Sheet from the updated EBP report for further information on the literature for prompting procedures.