A Strength-Based Employment Maintenance Program for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum

Autism Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Strength-Based Employment Maintenance Program for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06255925
• Other study ID #: E-1199-22
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 1, 2023
• Est. completion date: June 2025

Study information

• Verified date: February 2024
• Source: Kessler Foundation
• Contact: Helen Genova, Ph. D.
• Phone: 973-324-8390
• Email: hgenova[@]kesslerfoundation.org
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The investigators are looking to evaluate how effective a training program that focuses on character strengths may be in improving job maintenance skills in young adults. The investigators are examining the effects of this intervention in young adults who feel they would like to help in improving their satisfaction with work, and in keeping their jobs.

Description:

Individuals with autism possess employable and valuable strengths and abilities. Unfortunately, despite these strengths, individuals with autism experience challenges in obtaining and maintaining employment. Traditionally, the majority of interventions designed for autism (including those focused on employment) focus on remediating deficits, without harnessing the strengths of those with autism. This deficit-based approach (i.e. to fix what is deficient in a person with autism) has triggered increasing criticism and dissatisfaction from the autism community. A growing shift toward strength-based training tools represent a holistic approach to treatment of autistic individuals by acknowledging and using their strengths to improve outcomes. To date, no strength-based employment programs have been examined in individuals with autism. Thus, in the current project, the investigators aim to develop and test a strength-based employment program. At Kessler Foundation, the investigators have developed a strength-based training tool: Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression (KF-STRIDE®) which targets job interview skills by teaching individuals with autism to identify and express their personal strengths to a future employer. In the current proposal, the investigators aim to adapt this program to specifically target job maintenance skills.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 30
• Est. completion date: June 2025
• Est. primary completion date: January 1, 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 14 Years to 26 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Lives in the United States of America

• Between the ages of 14-26

• Speaks English well and at a 4th grade reading level

Exclusion Criteria:

• Had a stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, or neurological injury or disease in the past(like brain tumor or epilepsy)

• Has a history of significant psychiatric illness(like schizophrenia or psychosis)

• Has uncontrolled seizures or other unstable medical complications

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Autism
• Autistic Disorder

Intervention

Behavioral:
• KF-STRIDE® Into Work!
Treatment group will receive 10 web based sessions of a strength-based training tool(once or twice a week). Sessions are approximately 60 minutes long.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Kessler Foundation	East Hanover	New Jersey

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Kessler Foundation

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Parent Report Employment Questionnaire	Consists of questions answered by parents regarding employment difficulties in their children . Questions of employment valued by yes or no, with yes being valued higher. And amount of hours worked from 0-40, with higher score indicating a better outcome.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Primary	Work Self-Efficacy Scale	10 items, scores range from 10-50 with higher scores indicating perceived work capability.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Primary	Strengths Self-Efficacy Scale	Measures the level of one's confidence in her/his ability to practice and apply her/his strengths. 34 items, scores range from 0-340	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Primary	Strengths Knowledge and Strengths Use Scale(SKUS)	Measure to assess knowledge and use of one's strengths and measure changes following strengths-based interventions. Two scores: Strengths Use and Strengths Knowledge. Strengths Use values range from 14-98, with higher score indicating a better outcome. Strengths Knowledge values range from 8-56, with higher score indicating a better outcome.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Primary	Flourishing(FS)	Measure of well-being and "flourishing". Values range from 8-56, with higher score indicating a better outcome.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Primary	Patients Global Impression of Change	Measure of perception of intervention resulting in meaningful change for a participant's life. 6 Items, with higher score indicating effectiveness of positive change.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Primary	Intervention Effectiveness From Participant Point	Measure of perception of intervention resulting in meaningful change for a participant's life. 15 Items, with higher score indicating effectiveness of positive change.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Minnesota Work Satisfaction	20 item part 1, scores range from 20-100. Measure of present job satisfaction, with higher scores indicating higher job satisfaction. 8 item part 2 with open-ended questions, there is no maximum or minimum.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Job search	12 item, 0-60 with the higher score indicating the greater level of job search behaviors.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Search for Work Self-Efficacy Scale	12 items, scores range from 12-60. Items concern one's perception of their capability to select among job offers, to build strategies for the attainment of a goal, to respect other people's competences, and to work with new members, to manage time difficulties, and stressful situations typical of job searches, to consider a failure a challenge rather than a problem.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale(CD-RISC)	10 items, scores range from 0 to 40. Lower scores indicate less resilience and higher scores indicate greater resilience.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Voicemail Elicitation Task(VET)/ Email Elicitation Task(EET)	Measures how individuals respond to social situations using politeness/impoliteness. Values are calculated by dividing the total number of politeness markers by the total time in minutes, with a higher score indicating a better outcome. There are no minimum or maximum values for this test.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Work Chat Assessment	Measure of work place appropriate behavior. Participants interact with a virtual human avatar in various scenarios. Higher scores indicate more appropriate work place behavior. Minimum of 0 and Maximum of 100.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES)	Self-report self-esteem questionnaire. Values range from 10-40, with higher score indicating better outcome.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8
Secondary	Twenty Statements Task	20-item questionnaire used to measure an individual's self concept filling out the twenty items that each start with the words "I am..." which will be analyzed for positive and negative valence, with higher score indicating a better outcome. There is no maximum or minimum value for this test.	Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8