Purpose

A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine the effects of an adapted family-centered autism transition intervention called Transitioning Together/Juntos en la TransiciĆ³n on meaningful outcomes for families. The study will occur in a safety net hospital setting. The adapted version of this multi-family group psychoeducation intervention is delivered across one individual family joining session and four 2.5 hour multi-family group sessions. The parent and youth groups are held in separately, at the same time.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 14 Years and 21 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

for youth: - Age 14 to 21 years old - Be enrolled in high school or a specialized continued schooling program for youth ages 18 to 21. - Has been seen at BMC at least once since 2015 - Confirmation of the autism diagnosis - Currently live at home with a parent/legal guardian - A parent/legal guardian who meets the below criteria Inclusion Criteria for parents: - Age at least 21 years old - Parent/legal guardian of a youth who meets the youth criteria - Parent/legal guardian is comfortable reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English and/or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria

  • A primary home language for the family is not English or Spanish (the intervention and assessments are only available in English and Spanish) - The autistic youth currently resides independently, in supported housing, or with a foster family or other Department of Children and Families (DCF) placement - Either the youth or their parent/guardian chooses not to participate in the study (one cannot participate without the other)

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Transitioning Together
Participants in this arm will receive the Transitioning Together intervention in English or Spanish either at BMC, at BMC's Supporting Parents & Resilient Kids (SPARK) Center or on BMC Zoom.
  • Behavioral: Transitioning Together (TT) / Juntos en la Transicion (JET)
    1. One individual family joining session when each family dyad meets with group therapists to establish rapport and share their own unique family's background, goals, and supports. 2. A series of four 2.5-hour multi-family group psychoeducation intervention sessions focused on problem-solving education and psychoeducational autism transition-to-adulthood content which can include independence in adulthood, community involvement, guardianship and legal issues, employment and education, health and well-being.
Active Comparator
Usual Care
Participants in this arm will receive a referral to usual transition-related care through the BMC Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) clinic/the BMC Autism Program.
  • Behavioral: Usual autism transition care
    An expedited referral will be made for participants to establish care with a BMC Autism Program Transition/Resource Specialist. Data will be abstracted from the electronic medical record on how many visits each family completes with a BMC Autism Program Transition/Resource Specialist or other BMC Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics provider throughout the study period.

Recruiting Locations

Boston Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
Contact:
Mei L Elansary, MD, MD
617-414-6373
mei.elansary@bmc.org

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Boston Medical Center

Study Contact

Mei L Elansary, MD
617-414-6373
mei.elansary@bmc.org

Detailed Description

Objective 1: The investigators will test the efficacy of the adapted version of Transitioning Together on youth quality of life and progress toward individual transition goals. 128 English and/or Spanish speaking families of youth ages 14-21 years will be enrolled in the study. The primary enrollment site is Boston Medical Center (BMC), an urban safety net hospital where patients predominantly (>75%) from low-income households are served. The effects of Transitioning Together will be compared to a usual care control condition with a referral to the Transition Specialist within BMC's Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics clinic. Youth quality of life and progress toward individual transition goals will be compared from baseline and three-to-six months following randomization. The investigators hypothesize that Transitioning Together will have a significant positive effect on youth quality of life and goal attainment across the two time points. Objective 2: Additional standardized assessments will be administered to the 128 parents and the 128 autistic youth, to examine the effects of Transitioning Together compared to the control condition on: the broader family unit's well-being, empowerment, coping skills, social support, transition readiness, and family climate. The investigators will explore whether these factors act to mediate or moderate primary or secondary study outcomes (youth quality of life and progress toward individual transition goals). These putative mediators and moderators will be assessed at the baseline and 3-to 6-months following randomization.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.