STEPS: Stepped Transition in Education Program for Students with ASD

描述(由申请人提供)：患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的年轻人在从中学毕业时面临着一系列相当独特的挑战。这些学生往往很有能力在高等教育中取得成功，他们中的许多人都有兴趣攻读更高的学位，但他们残疾的性质和相关的缺陷(例如，糟糕的时间管理和糟糕的自我监管)可能会阻碍成功。个性化、适时和对发展敏感的过渡和支助服务可促进实现这些年轻人的最佳结果。该项目的目标是制定一项全面的计划，以促进患有自闭症的学生成功地从高中过渡到高等教育。我们建议完善并评估一项针对青少年和青壮年ASD患者的新的过渡支持和干预计划：STEPS[ASD学生的阶段性过渡教育计划]。通过针对患有自闭症的年轻人改善自我调节(SR)和自我决定(SD)，我们断言该计划可能会在大学适应和功能行为方面产生积极的结果。虽然该计划将在拟议项目的第一阶段完成，但STEPS由两个层次(或步骤)组成，符合学生在过渡规划方面的特殊需求。在第一步中，面临过渡的学生(即，已经确定了他们将进入的大学[两年制或四年制]，但仍处于高水平 学校)及其照顾者将获得协助过渡规划的信息，接受准备情况自我评估，以确定为上中学做好准备的程度，并参加在线和面对面的互动会议，以促进自我认识和决心。在第二步，患有自闭症的大学生将得到相当密集的支持和干预，包括个人咨询、结构化支持服务、社会融合活动和辅导，以促进学业和社会成功。如果采用“自下而上”的累加方法，并考虑到学生的自我识别需求，那么为患有自闭症的学生制定成功的过渡计划将是最有效的。因此，我们提出了一个分两个阶段的项目，首先使用参与性过程方法来制定完整的计划(第一阶段)，然后在一个小型随机对照试验(第二阶段)中实施该计划。在第一阶段，我们将根据咨询专家小组的意见(通过两周一次的电话会议和现场访问)以及患有自闭症的学生及其家庭的反馈来反复完善治疗方案。随机对照试验的目的是确定实施的可行性、最终用户的可接受性，并改进方法(例如，招聘、保留)，为全面开展的疗效试验做准备。拟议的研究及其产品(培训材料、课程；以及可行性和初步效果的证据)将有助于推进当前的研究和临床/教育实践。这项初步研究代表着为ASD学生提供一个以证据为基础的、用户友好的、有望非常有效的过渡计划的第一步，也是必要的第一步。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Young adults who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) without co-occurring intellectual impairment face a fairly unique set of challenges as they transition out of secondary school. These students are often quite capable of succeeding in higher education and many of them have interest in pursuing advanced degrees, but the nature of their disability and associated deficits (e.g., poor time management and poor self-regulation) may impede success. Individualized, appropriately timed, and developmentally sensitive transition and support services may promote realization of optimal outcomes for these young people. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive program to promote successful transition of students with ASD from high school to post-secondary education. We propose to refine and then evaluate a novel transition support and intervention program for adolescents and young adults with ASD: STEPS [Stepped Transition in Education Program for Students with ASD]. By targeting improved self-regulation (SR) and self-determination (SD) in young people with ASD, we assert that this program may have positive outcomes with respective to college adjustment and functional behavior. Although the program will be finalized during the first phase of the proposed project, STEPS is comprised of two levels (or steps), which match the student's particular needs in relation to transition planning. In Step 1, students facing transition (i.e., hve identified the college they will attend [either 2-year or 4-year institution] but are still in high school) and their caregivers will receive information to assist in transition planning, undergo readiness self-assessments to identify degree of preparedness for post-secondary school, and participate in interactive sessions online and in person to promote self-knowledge and determination. In Step 2, college students with ASD will receive fairly intensive supports and interventions, including individual counseling, structured support services, social integration activities, and coaching to promote academic and social success. Successful transition programming for students with ASD will be most effective if developed using a 'bottom up' additive approach, with the students' self-identified needs in mind. We therefore propose a two-phase project, first using a participatory process approach to develop the full program (Phase I) and then implementing the program in a small RCT (Phase II). During Phase I, we will iteratively refine the treatment based on consultation with the expert panel (via bi-weekly conference calls and site visits), and feedback from students with ASD and their families. The purpose of the RCT is to establish feasibility of implementation, acceptability to the end-users, and refine methodology (e.g., recruitment, retention) in preparation for a fully powered efficacy trial. The proposed research and its products (training materials, curriculum; also evidence of feasibility and preliminary efficacy) will help to advance current research and clinical/educational practice. This preliminary study represents the first, necessary step toward an evidence-based, user-friendly, and hopefully highly effective transition program for students with ASD.