A Hybrid Effectiveness-implementation Trial of a High School-based Executive Function Treatment for Autistic Youth

A Hybrid Effectiveness-implementation Trial of a School Based Executive Function Treatment for Transition Age Autistic Youth

This study will test the effectiveness of a school-based cognitive behavioral executive function (EF) intervention, Unstuck & On Target High School (UOT:HS), for transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). UOT:HS was designed to be embedded in high schools and delivered by school staff to improve generalization of skills, increase access to mental health care, and fill a gap in evidence-based approaches to support postsecondary transition. UOT:HS targets flexibility and planning skills and focuses on key functions needed for adult success across 25, 1-hour lessons. School staff will be trained to deliver UOT:HS, study staff will provide ongoing check-ins, and parents will be offered home extensions for each lesson and two trainings to generalize skills to the home environment. Behavioral and parent-report data will be collected prior to intervention, post-intervention, and at 4-to-6-month follow-up.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Executive Dysfunction; Adolescent Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Unstuck & On Target: High School; Other: Treatment as Usual

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 178
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Rockville, Maryland, United States, 20850
      • Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children's National Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 22 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Cognitive/Behavioral capacity to benefit and understand Unstuck material as determined by teacher guided by probes related to pragmatic language that align with verbal demands of the curriculum.

2. Evidence of autism supported by at least one of the following:

   • Eligible and/or receiving school-based services or supports for autism
   • Prior clinical diagnosis of autism from a qualified health professional (as indicated by parent report)
   • Demonstrates characteristics of autism consistent with DSM-5, as judged by a clinical autism expert, based on all available information gathered through the screening, consenting, and testing process (including information gathered through the Social Communication Questionnaire via parent/teacher report, and SRS-2,)
3. Capacity to benefit and understand unstuck material as determined by teacher

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Students must have a level of proficiency in English to complete questionnaires and study procedures in English. Parents must have a level of proficiency in English or Spanish to complete questionnaires and study procedures in English or Spanish.
2. Student is not able to participate in UOT:HS due to their schedule or ability to benefit from curriculum material as determined by teacher.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention (Unstuck & On Target: High School); School staff will receive training on the Unstuck and On Target: High School (UOT:HS) curriculum, and deliver lessons to students during the school day. Interventionists will have the option to participate in ongoing check-ins with study staff. Parents are provided home extensions for each lesson and have the option to participate in trainings delivered by study staff to support generalization of skills to the home environment.	Behavioral: Unstuck & On Target: High School; Unstuck & On Target: High School (UOT:HS) is a group-based curriculum for high school students that targets executive function skills using Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) techniques. UOT:HS focuses on key functions needed for adult success, such as: self-advocacy, flexibility, time management, motivation, goal setting, developing plans, monitoring progress. Guided practice begins with concrete interventionist support and moves to interventionist cueing, self-cueing, and finally automatic use of the skills without support. Lessons are delivered by school personnel within the school setting. Home extension activities are provided to parents.; Other Names: Formerly Flexible Futures
Other: Usual Care; Participants in schools assigned to the TAU condition will continue to receive the standard school-based Individualized Education Plan (IEP) accommodations and school supports that would typically be provided.	Other: Treatment as Usual; Participants in schools assigned to the Treatment as Usual (TAU) condition will continue to receive the standard school-based IEP accommodations and school supports that would typically be provided. Data will be collected on the types of supports TAU schools offer, and what supports TAU students receive.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adaptive Behavior (at follow-up)	Change in adaptive behavior will serve as the primary outcome at follow-up (e.g., approximately six month after end of intervention). Adaptive behavior will be measured via parent-report on the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition (ABAS-3). The ABAS-3 is a well-validated parent report measure that assesses practical, everyday skills needed to effectively and independently take care of oneself and interact with others across the lifespan. Performance is represented as standard scores, with higher scores indicating better adaptive skills.	Baseline, End of Intervention, Follow-up (approx. 6 months after end of intervention)
Classroom Behavior	Change in Classroom Behavior will serve as the primary outcome at end of intervention. Classroom behavior will be assessed through 15-minute classroom observations conducted by a trained research staff member masked to treatment condition. Observations will occur during the school day in an academic (non-intervention) class. Raters use a standardized form to detect the presence or absence of seven observable behaviors: social appropriateness, on task behavior, initiation, transitions, organization, getting stuck/preservation, expression of overwhelm/negativity.	Baseline to End of Intervention (up to end of academic year, approx 9 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adaptive Behavior (end of intervention)	Change in adaptive behavior will serve as the secondary outcome at the end of intervention. Adaptive behavior will be measured via parent-report on the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition (ABAS-3). The ABAS-3 is a well-validated parent report measure that assesses practical, everyday skills needed to effectively and independently take care of oneself and interact with others across the lifespan. Performance is represented as standard scores (mean=100; SD=15), with higher scores indicating better adaptive skills.	Baseline, End of Intervention (up to end of academic year, approx 9 months)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition (BRIEF-2)	The "Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition" (BRIEF-2) is a well-established parent-report measure of real-world EF skills, with the Shift subscale measuring cognitive flexibility.	Baseline, End of Intervention, Follow-up (approx. 6 months after end of intervention)
Executive Function Challenge Task (EFCT)	The "Executive Function Challenge Task" (EFCT) is an objective and ecologically valid task developed by our research team to assess flexibility and planning skills in a social context conducted by a trained research staff member masked to treatment condition. The EFCT uses a standardized, semi-structured protocol which does not provide explicit rules for completing the tasks to mimic the implicit, unspoken, unstructured expectations in everyday life. The EFCT consists of challenges across several activities and responses are scored on a 3-point scale for each task. The scale (0-good, 1-intermediate, 2-poor performance) has task-specific behavioral markers to guide scoring.	Baseline to End of Intervention (up to end of academic year, approx 9 months)
Dimensional Change Card Sort - NIH Toolbox	The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) (NIH Toolbox) is a 4-minute, standard lab-based task for assessing cognitive flexibility in terms of set-shifting. Participants are required to sort a series of bivalent cards first according to one dimension (e.g., color) and then according to another (e.g., shape). It is normed from ages 4-85.	Baseline to End of Intervention (up to end of academic year, approx 9 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Children's National Research Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lauren Kenworthy, PhD, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 7, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 15, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): December 15, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 27, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): August 24, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 10, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 6, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Executive Functioning; Intervention; Autism Spectrum Disorder; High school
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Behavior; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Adolescent Behavior; Therapeutics
• Other Study ID Numbers: R01MH124772 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual data that supports the results will be shared via the National Institute of Mental Health's National Data Archive (NDA).
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Descriptive/raw de-identified data will be reported semi-annually through NDA.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Request login access to NDA data

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No