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

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Autism
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: KF-STRIDE® Into Work!

Detailed 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.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Helen Genova, Ph. D.; Phone Number: 973-324-8390; Email: hgenova@kesslerfoundation.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Jersey
    • East Hanover, New Jersey, United States, 07936
      • Recruiting
      • Kessler Foundation
      • Contact: Helen Genova, Ph. D.

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment Group; In this arm, participants would participate in in an intervention program that uses character strengths to improve job maintenance skills in young adults.	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.; Other Names: Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression
No Intervention: Control Group; In this arm, participants are services as usual and will participate in their regular activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kessler Foundation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Helen Genova, Ph. D., Kessler Foundation

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 16, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): February 13, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 13, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: E-1199-22

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No