Evaluating an Employment-Related Social Skills Training Program for Transition-Age Youth with Autism (the ASSET Program): a Randomized Controlled Trial Study
Background: Transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a growing population at risk for poor post-school employment outcomes. Clearly, possessing work-related social skills and confidence is critical to the success of youth with ASD in finding, maintaining, and advancing within a job. Yet, no research-based “soft skills” training specifically designed to prepare students with ASD for transition from school to work exists. Although the literature has addressed aspects of design and delivery of social skills interventions in school-based settings, the application of these skills to work-related social and interpersonal skills has received far too little attention. Given that social skill deficits are consistently cited as the most significant barrier to successful employment for people with ASD, there is an urgent need for effective and empirically-supported intervention strategies to increase the social and adaptive functioning of transition-age youth with ASD to equip them with the skills, competency, and self-efficacy required for successful transition from school to competitive work.Objective/Hypotheses: The objective of the study randomized control trial (RCT) is to evaluate the effectiveness of a manualized work-related social skills training intervention for transition-age youth (14-22 years old) with ASD designed to improve social skills and self-efficacy. The Assistive Social Skills and Employment Training (ASSET) program is a manualized 10-week program for 4-6 students with ASD that meets after school for 90 minutes on a weekly basis focusing on building work-related social skills for transition-age youth with ASD. It is hypothesized that students with ASD will show significantly greater improvements in social skills and social self-efficacy (primary outcomes) as well as adaptive functioning, anxiety, and job readiness (secondary outcomes) compared to those in the waitlist control groups (a) at the end of the 10-week of the intervention and (b) at 3-month follow-up.Specific Aims: First, the pilot-tested ASSET manual will be refined and finalized using community-based participatory action research (CBPR) approach gathering input from key stakeholder groups. Second, the effectiveness and sustainability of the ASSET program will be evaluated using a factorially designed randomized controlled trial [2 conditions (treatment vs. waitlist) x 3 intervals pre-, post-, 3-month follow-up].Study Design: The first stage of this project incorporates stakeholder recommendations using a CBPR approach to refine the manual for the ASSET intervention. The second and third stages examine the efficacy of the ASSET program at immediate and follow-up using a RCT design in two Midwestern states with randomization of student participants by condition for each of the two states, with a total of four treatment cycles over years 2 and 3 of the 4-year study period, including 3-month follow-up after the completion of the 10-week program. Participants will include 96 students (age 14-22) from schools in Michigan and Illinois who will be randomly assigned to either the ASSET intervention or waitlist-control condition.Clinical Impact: This project will fill an important gap for schools, transition providers, families and students, by testing an intervention designed to specifically improve the social functioning and self-efficacy of youth with ASD to improve work-related success. The findings will provide an empirically supported intervention manual to help students with ASD improve social and adaptive functioning, self-efficacy, work readiness, and anxiety.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
