Improving Access to Community-Based Occupations Via a Rideshare Training Program

Summary

Community mobility is critical for living independently and engaging in one's community. It is especially important for people in their early adult years, as this is often a time of transition to employment and living independently. Community mobility can be particularly challenging for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (henceforth referred to as autistic adults based on the preferred identity-first language of our autistic partners). Some autistic adults are unable to meet the demands of driving. Public transportation is an option for autistic adults; and autistic adults are more likely to use public transportation than their non-autistic counterparts. However, using public transportation may be just as challenging as driving for the autistic population. Rideshare (also called ride-hailing) is a relatively new form of transportation in which passengers get from point A to point B in private vehicles driven by their owners. A digital app, usually accessed on a smartphone, matches passengers and drivers, coordinates routes using a GPS system, and facilitates payment through a linked financial account. Rideshare has the potential to address many of the issues autistic adults have accessing the community. It is faster and more direct than the public train or bus, there is limited social interaction required, and rides can be scheduled at any time. Despite it's potential to increase transportation in autistic adults, there are no evidence-based training programs to support Rideshare use in this population.

Conditions

• Autism

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Intervention Phase

After participants have been enrolled, they will be assigned to one of the trainer-pairs and will work with them to schedule the first two sessions. Most clients will be able to schedule one virtual session per week and one ride along session per week for the first five weeks, with the remaining three weeks allotted to practice ride-along sessions and module repetition (as needed). The additional time also provides a buffer if subjects are unavailable for a week during the intervention phase.

BEHAVIORAL

Virtual Training Sessions

Virtual sessions will take place over Zoom each session lasting 20-30 minutes. Each of the five virtual sessions will be aligned with the five online modules. For each module, exercises are built in to test comprehension. If the participant does not complete an exercise accurately, the lead trainer will explain why the response was incorrect and prompt them to repeat the video modeling exercise. The support training partner will take notes to support the formative assessment process and complete fidelity checks.

BEHAVIORAL

Ride-Along Training Sessions

The first ride-along session will be the baseline session for assessing level of independence (number of cues needed) and safety. The participant will have up to 8 ride-along sessions to reach full independence (no cues needed) and full marks on the safety assessment. The lead trainer will provide the cues as needed to complete each step of the Rideshare process.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Organization for Autism Research

  collaborator OTHER

• Virginia Commonwealth University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Stacey Reynolds · Virginia Commonwealth University

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-05-06

Primary Completion

2024-11-11

Completion

2024-11-11

Countries

• United States

Study Locations