A Strength-Based Intervention to Improve Job Interview Skills in Transition Age Youth with ASD

患有自闭症谱系障碍（TAY-ASD）的过渡年龄青年的失业率很高。 此外，TAY-ASD在高中毕业后2年内失业的风险最大。给定 每59个年轻人中就有1个患有自闭症，预计将这一不断增长的亚群排除在劳动力之外， 随着这些人的年龄增长，对经济产生了深远的负面影响。因此，为了帮助增加获得 就业的TAY-ASD，目前的研究将评估的可接受性和有效性的强度- Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression（KF-STRIDE） 求职面试技巧和就业。尽管拥有就业人才，TAY的核心社会赤字- ASD使这个群体很难表达他们的个人优势。这种无法识别和表达 一个人对潜在雇主的优势可能会对面试表现产生负面影响，并导致面试困难。 就业机会。因此，当前提案将检查有效性（目标1）、可接受性、可用性和 可行性（目标2）的一种新的力量为基础的干预，KF-STRIDE，这是为了提高能力 的TAY-ASD，以确定个人的优势，并有效地讨论他们。目前研究的目标是 通过为期8周的随机对照试验，评估KF-STRIDE的初步有效性和可行性 将干预措施与常规服务进行比较（SAU）。这项研究将在两个私人治疗中心进行。 学校与SAU组相比，我们假设KF-STRIDE组将：a）提高以下能力： 识别优势（假设1），B）提高表达优势的能力（假设2），c）提高其他 工作面试技巧（假设3），最后c）提高就业能力6个月后， 干预（假设4）。这样，目前的研究符合NIMH的实验疗法 模型，因为我们将研究干预是否改善了就业，以及确定潜在的 可能影响结果的机械目标。在目标2中，我们还将监控保真度、可接受性、可用性， 基于力量的干预的可行性。目前研究的长期目标是收集试点数据 这将导致在其他社区全面评估KF-STRIDE有效性和执行情况 设置.

High rates of unemployment are observed in transition-age youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (TAY-ASD). Moreover, TAY-ASD within 2 years of high school graduation are at the greatest risk of unemployment. Given that 1 in 59 youths have autism, the exclusion of this growing subpopulation from the workforce is expected to have a profound negative impact upon the economy as these individuals age. Thus, to help enhance access to employment for TAY-ASD, the current study will evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of a strength- based intervention (Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression; KF-STRIDE) that can enhance job interview skills and employment. Despite possessing employable talents, the core social deficits of TAY- ASD make it difficult for this group to articulate their individual strengths. This inability to identify and express one’s strengths to a potential employer can negatively affect interview performance and lead to difficulty with job obtainment. Thus, the current proposal will examine the effectiveness (Aim 1), acceptability, usability, and feasibility (Aim 2) of a novel strength-based intervention, KF-STRIDE, which is designed to enhance the ability of TAY-ASD to identify personal strengths and effectively discuss them. The goals of the current study are to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of KF-STRIDE in an 8-week randomized controlled trial comparing the intervention to services as usual (SAU). The study will be performed at two private therapeutic schools. Compared to a SAU group, we hypothesize that the KF-STRIDE group will: a) improve the ability to identify strengths (Hypothesis 1), b) improve the ability to express strengths (Hypothesis 2), c) improve other job interview skills (Hypothesis 3) and finally c) improve ability to obtain employment 6-months following the intervention (Hypothesis 4). In this way, the current study is in line with the NIMH’s experimental therapeutics model, as we will examine whether the intervention improves employment, as well as identify potential mechanistic targets that could affect outcome. In Aim 2, we will also monitor fidelity, acceptability, usability, and feasibility of the strength-based intervention. The long-term goal of the current research is to collect pilot data that will lead to fully-powered effectiveness and implementation evaluations of KF-STRIDE in other community settings.