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A Peer-mediated Vocational Social Skills Program for Young Adults With Autism

NCT04468620 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 15

Last updated 2021-02-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The Assistive Social Skills and Employment Training program (ASSET) is an occupationally-based, work-related social skills intervention, designed to address the pre-employment and mental health needs of young adults with high-functioning autism in school-to-work transition. Knowing that occupational therapy (OT) services designed to address the post-secondary transition needs of this population have been largely unexplored, and recognizing the need for OT students to gain practical experience facilitating psychosocial groups, this study seeks to: (1) evaluate program impacts on participants' psychosocial functioning and work readiness, and (2) pilot the use of OT students as group facilitators. The study will follow a mixed-methods, single group design, using questionnaires and interviews to assess skills, confidence, and psychological wellness before intervention, immediately after, and at follow-up. OT students will also be interviewed and complete pre- and post-intervention assessments of clinical self-efficacy and stress. This project supports the AOTF's objectives by: (1) building OT academic program capacity to partner with university services and the autism community to improve transition outcomes in an underserved group, (2) laying the groundwork for larger, more rigorous studies of ASSET's effectiveness, and (3) gathering pilot data to support future grant applications at the federal level.

Conditions

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder High-Functioning

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Assistive Soft Skills & Employment Training (ASSET)

The ASSET curriculum covers six key social skill areas: (a) Communication; (b) Networking; (c) Attitude \& Enthusiasm; (d) Teamwork; (e) Problem Solving \& Critical Thinking; and (f) Professionalism, as well as new content added based on our pilot findings (Mental Health; Stress Management and Self-Advocacy; and Awareness of Self \& Others). The schedule includes two sessions for Communication and Professionalism, and a graduation session; thus, bringing the total number of sessions to 13. The structural elements of the training format include didactic lecture, experiential activities, group discussions, role-plays, performance feedback,and weekly take-home assignments. A key element is a social hour following each 90-minute session, in which participants practice learned skills while sharing a meal.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Florida Gulf Coast University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Annemarie Connor, PhD · Assistant Professor

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
29 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-09-16
Primary Completion
2020-04-15
Completion
2020-06-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04468620 on ClinicalTrials.gov