Effect of a 9-Month Internship Intervention for Military Dependents With ASD

NCT ID: NCT04001790

Last Updated: 2024-12-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 48 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-05-11
• Study Completion Date: 2021-05-19

Brief Summary

The aims of the project are: 1. VCU will modify the Project SEARCH Plus ASD Model to meet the needs of military dependents with ASD. 2. VCU will implement the intervention based upon the Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports manual and will measure fidelity of implementation. 3. VCU will measure the impact of the intervention on the social communication, behavioral adjustment and employment outcomes of the military dependents who participate compared to an equal control group who do not receive the intervention. Aim 1 is accomplished, and Aims 2 and 3 have been implemented. The Project SEARCH program is currently in its second year at the 773rd Mission Support Group, Joint Base Langley Eustis, Fort Eustis site. Additionally, all recruitment activities were completed for the second cohort of the project, with a total of 14 treatment group participants and 21 control group participants across the two cohorts thus far. In addition, all collaborating agencies have signed the memorandum of understanding. The relocation and deployment plan is currently is being piloted.

Detailed Description

Background: Young people with ASD present unique challenges related to post school employment outcomes. Competitive employment rates for individuals with ASD, regardless of intellectual ability, reportedly range between 4.1 to 11.8%. Across the ability spectrum, individuals with ASD have lower rates of participation in vocational or technical education, employment, and post-secondary education in 2 or 4-year programs than their peers with other disabilities. The findings from this literature indicate individuals with ASD continue to have significant challenges in all environments related to social interaction and communication into adolescence and adulthood. Military offspring present a particular risk for poor outcomes due to the mobile nature of their parents' jobs. This greatly impacts the individual with ASD who may not be able to access programs to assist them in the transition to employment as well as their parents who may not be able to take advantage of promotions that involve moving.

Objective/Hypothesis: The objective of this proposed project is to study the impact of Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports (PS-ASD) on the social communication, behavioral, and employment outcomes of military dependents with ASD across three vocational domains (employment status, wage, number of hours worked per week) and three personal domains (social responsiveness, mental health, and quality of life).

The six hypotheses driving this project propose that Young adults who participate in an employer-based employment training and placement program will: demonstrate a higher rate of employment, work more hours, and earn a higher wage than those in the control condition. Additionally, young adults who participate in a work-based employment training and placement program will increase their social responsiveness, display lower anxiety and depression scores, and report higher quality of life scores than those in the control condition.

Specific Aims: Aim 1. VCU will modify the Project SEARCH Plus ASD Model to meet the needs of military dependents with ASD.

Aim 2. VCU will implement the intervention based upon the Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports manual and will measure fidelity of implementation.

Aim 3. VCU will measure the impact of the intervention on the social communication, behavioral adjustment and employment outcomes of the military dependents who participate compared to an equal control group who do not receive the intervention.

Study Design: This is a randomized, wait-list controlled study of the efficacy of the Project Search plus ASD Supports Model (PS-ASD) in 32 adolescents and young adults aged 18 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder. Approximately 32 subjects will be enrolled and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to treatment or wait-list control groups. A sufficient number of potential subjects will be screened to achieve this number of enrolled subjects.

Clinical Impact: The PS-ASD model provides an option for youth with ASD who seek employment upon graduation from high school by providing high numbers of trials of vocational, social communication, and self-management skills using applied behavior analysis in the settings where those skills will be used. Immersion in a 9-month internship program via PS+ASD appears to improve self-management, independence, social responsiveness, work skills, and quality of life but further research like the proposed project is required to observe the impact of this model for military dependents with ASD. This proposed project will assist professionals and military personnel in identifying viable treatment models for military dependents in transition to adulthood. This is a critical need for this population of youth who frequently do not receive such intensive transition services.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Transition to Employment; Employment; Project Search Plus ASD Supports

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Project Search + ASD Supports

Project SEARCH is an intensive 9-month job training program where youth with developmental disabilities in their last year of high school are embedded in a large community business such as a hospital, government complex, or banking center where they rotate through three 10-12 week internships within the business learning marketable skills, social communication, and adaptive behavior in the business setting. In order to meet the unique needs of youth with ASD, Wehman, et al. (2014) enhanced the Project SEARCH model by adding autism supports to the original model. Those added supports were: 1) on-site, intensive, systematic instruction using the principles of applied behavior analysis, 2) on-site support and consultation from a behavior/autism specialist, and 3) intensive staff training in ASD and the Project SEARCH Model.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Project Search plus ASD Supports

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Nine month job training program embedded on Fort Eustis military base.

Business as Usual

Business as Usual means these youth remain in their high school programs as determined on their individualized education plans

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Project Search plus ASD Supports

Nine month job training program embedded on Fort Eustis military base.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

PS+ASD

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Has an ASD
• Between 18 - 21 years old
• Seeking community based employment upon graduation from high school
• Attends participating school
• Eligible for funding through the Virginia Department of Aging and Vocational Rehabilitation
• Has personal independence
• Is able to pass a drug screen and felony record check and immunizations up-to-date for employment purposes
• Is military dependent or connected

Exclusion Criteria

• Unable to provide consent or assent

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 21 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

United States Department of Defense

FED

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Virginia Commonwealth University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Paul Wehman, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Virginia Commonwealth University

Carol M Schall, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Virginia Commonwealth University

Locations

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia, United States

Countries

United States

References

Whittenburg HN, Schall CM, Wehman P, McDonough J, DuBois T. Helping High School-Aged Military Dependents With Autism Gain Employment Through Project SEARCH + ASD Supports. Mil Med. 2020 Jan 7;185(Suppl 1):663-668. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usz224.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 31498390 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Related Links

http://vcurrtc.org/deployed2work/

website describing project

Other Identifiers

CDMRP AR150172

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

HM20008778

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id