{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T11:22:06Z","timestamp":1787743326827,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The integration of digital technology into art therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents an emerging trend, yet systematic design frameworks that translate evidence-based interventions into digital media remain underdeveloped. This study developed and evaluated a digital art therapy paradigm that structurally integrates pivotal response treatment (PRT) into video animation design while maintaining cross-media consistency with physical generalization tools.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Based on the behavioral characteristics of children with ASD, 12 sets of video animations integrating PRT and corresponding physical scene models were custom developed. Thirty-eight children with mild to moderate ASD were randomly assigned to an intervention group (PRT-based video animation with physical models, n=19) and a control group (conventional video animation, n=19) for a 12-week intervention. Pre- and postintervention assessments were conducted using four dimensions of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) and behavioral observation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Compared with the control group, the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements across all ATEC dimensions (language communication: F(1,36) = 67.74, p &amp;lt; 0.001, \u03b7p\u00b2 = 0.755; social skills, F(1,36) = 80.69, p &amp;lt; 0.001, \u03b7p\u00b2 = 0.786; sensory\/cognitive awareness: F(1,36) = 55.69, p &amp;lt; 0.001, \u03b7p\u00b2 = 0.717; health\/physical behavior, F(1,36) = 36.94, p &amp;lt; 0.001, \u03b7p\u00b2 = 0.627. The percentage of children who reported \u201c no observable behavioral response\u201d in the intervention group decreased from 35% to 10%.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This pilot randomized controlled study provides preliminary evidence for the feasibility and efficacy of a multi-component, PRT-informed digital and physical intervention package for children with ASD. The intervention is characterized by three design principles: (1) theoretical translation-\u2013embedding the structured steps of PRT into digital interaction logic; (2) cross-media consistency-\u2013maintaining visual and functional coherence between video animations and physical generalization tools; and (3) progressive scaffolding--sequencing intervention content from foundational cognition to complex social skills. These findings offer a preliminary design framework for the development of digital art therapy interventions for children with ASD. Future large-checklist replication studies are needed to further validate this approach.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1894877","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T10:51:59Z","timestamp":1787741519000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A pilot randomized controlled study of a digital art therapy paradigm for children with ASD: integrating pivotal response treatment into video animation and physical model design"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Huili","family":"She","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Anhui University of Technology","place":["Ma\u2019anshan, Anhui, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinyi","family":"Dai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Anhui University of Technology","place":["Ma\u2019anshan, Anhui, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ting","family":"Deng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Anhui University of Technology","place":["Ma\u2019anshan, Anhui, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruhao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and New Media, Xi\u2019an Jiaotong University","place":["Xi\u2019an, Shaanxi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenting","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Anhui University of Technology","place":["Ma\u2019anshan, Anhui, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xufeng","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Arts & Media, Tongji University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.15735","article-title":"Review of intervention methods for language and communication disorders in children with ASD spectrum disorders","volume":"11","author":"Cui","year":"2023","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-019-0138-4","article-title":"Autism spectrum disorder","volume":"6","author":"Lord","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat Rev Dis Primers"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2022.23661","article-title":"Autism spectrum disorder: a review","volume":"329","author":"Hirota","year":"2023","journal-title":"Jama"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40489-023-00355-9","article-title":"Measures used to assess treatment outcomes in children with ASD receiving early and intensive behavioral interventions: a review","volume":"11","author":"Ridout","year":"2024","journal-title":"Rev J Autism Dev Disord"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1155\/2020\/7605876","article-title":"Is earlier better? 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