Effect of a 9-Month Internship Intervention for Military Dependents With ASD

Background: Young people with ASD present unique challenges related to post school employment outcomes. Competitive employment rates for individuals with ASD, regardless of intellectual ability, reportedly range between 4.1 to 11.8%. Across the ability spectrum, individuals with ASD have lower rates of participation in vocational or technical education, employment, and post-secondary education in 2 or 4-year programs than their peers with other disabilities. The findings from this literature indicate individuals with ASD continue to have significant challenges in all environments related to social interaction and communication into adolescence and adulthood. Military offspring present a particular risk for poor outcomes due to the mobile nature of their parents' jobs. This greatly impacts the individual with ASD who may not be able to access programs to assist them in the transition to employment as well as their parents who may not be able to take advantage of promotions that involve moving.

Objective/Hypothesis: The objective of this proposed project is to study the impact of Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports (PS-ASD) on the social communication, behavioral, and employment outcomes of military dependents with ASD across three vocational domains (employment status, wage, number of hours worked per week) and three personal domains (social responsiveness, mental health, and quality of life).

The six hypotheses driving this project propose that Young adults who participate in an employer-based employment training and placement program will: demonstrate a higher rate of employment, work more hours, and earn a higher wage than those in the control condition. Additionally, young adults who participate in a work-based employment training and placement program will increase their social responsiveness, display lower anxiety and depression scores, and report higher quality of life scores than those in the control condition.

Specific Aims: Aim 1. VCU will modify the Project SEARCH Plus ASD Model to meet the needs of military dependents with ASD.

Aim 2. VCU will implement the intervention based upon the Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports manual and will measure fidelity of implementation.

Aim 3. VCU will measure the impact of the intervention on the social communication, behavioral adjustment and employment outcomes of the military dependents who participate compared to an equal control group who do not receive the intervention.

Study Design: This is a randomized, wait-list controlled study of the efficacy of the Project Search plus ASD Supports Model (PS-ASD) in 32 adolescents and young adults aged 18 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder. Approximately 32 subjects will be enrolled and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to treatment or wait-list control groups. A sufficient number of potential subjects will be screened to achieve this number of enrolled subjects.

Clinical Impact: The PS-ASD model provides an option for youth with ASD who seek employment upon graduation from high school by providing high numbers of trials of vocational, social communication, and self-management skills using applied behavior analysis in the settings where those skills will be used. Immersion in a 9-month internship program via PS+ASD appears to improve self-management, independence, social responsiveness, work skills, and quality of life but further research like the proposed project is required to observe the impact of this model for military dependents with ASD. This proposed project will assist professionals and military personnel in identifying viable treatment models for military dependents in transition to adulthood. This is a critical need for this population of youth who frequently do not receive such intensive transition services.