Project Activities
In this project, researchers will iteratively develop and refine the TASK program, test its feasibility and usability, and evaluate its promise for improving goal attainment, increasing access to services, and improving post-secondary outcomes with a pilot randomized controlled trial.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The study will take place in high schools across the state of Tennessee.
Sample
Across all project years, 102 transition-aged youth with autism will participate in this project, along with their parents. Additionally, 62 high school teachers and 12 adult service provider representatives will inform the development of the curriculum.
Intervention
The TASK program, designed to be implemented across a school year, includes a 1-day teacher training, web-based modules about adult services that teachers can use in transition planning and share with students and families, and up to 1 hour of teleconsultation for the teachers per month. The modules include brief online training sessions about disability services, specific and up-to-date resources on how and where to access adult services, case study scenarios, and exercises that reflect access to adult services to meet individual goals around independent living, education, training, and employment.
Research design and methods
In phase 1, researchers will gather extensive input from community partners to develop the TASK program through focus groups. In phase 2, researchers will test the TASK program with a small sample of teacher–student–parent trios to identify needed adaptations. In phase 3, researchers will conduct a pilot study using a randomized controlled trial to assess the feasibility, acceptability, cost, treatment fidelity, and initial promise of efficacy of the TASK program. In all years of the project, a National Advisory Board will inform the development of the TASK program to ensure its national relevance.
Control condition
The control group for the pilot study will receive business-as-usual transition services.
Key measures
Measures of knowledge of adult services and perceived advocacy skills will be used to measure student, teacher, and parent intervention targets. Researchers will use the Family Empowerment Scale with parents and the Transition Empowerment Scale with students to measure empowerment related to family, the service system, and the broader community; researchers will develop an instrument to measure the same construct in teachers. Student and parent engagement in transition planning will be measured with momentary time sampling of recorded IEP meetings and with a researcher-created rubric of meaningful contributions. Transition plan quality will be measured with a researcher-created rubric and the Transition Planning Quality Measure. Student outcomes will be measured using Goal Attainment Scaling; a services inventory to assess the number of services used, unmet service needs, and barriers to service receipt; and the Vocational and Educational interview to assess post-secondary work, school, and independent living. The usability of the program will be evaluated from monthly usage surveys and user data from the online modules. Fidelity will be measured with checklists and observation systems.
Data analytic strategy
Focus group data will be analyzed via constant comparative analysis and emergent coding of transcripts. In the pilot study, teacher-related treatment effects will be estimated with t-tests and linear regression. Student and parent treatment effects will be estimated with multi-level modeling to account for clustering by teacher.
Cost analysis strategy
Researchers will use the ingredients method to estimate the cost of implementing the TASK program.
Products and publications
Products: This project will result in a fully developed intervention that improves knowledge of and access to adult services for transition-aged students with autism and their families. The project will also result in peer-reviewed publications and presentations as well as additional dissemination products that reach education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigator: Burke, Meghan M.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.