TeleABA for Hospitalized Adolescents and Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

July 13, 2026 updated by: Caring Technologies, Inc.

Transforming Hospitalizations of Autistic Adolescents Via a Novel ABA Telehealth Platform

This study is evaluating whether a telehealth-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) program can improve the care of adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are hospitalized because of severe challenging behaviors, such as aggression, self-injury, property destruction, or elopement.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either standard hospital care alone or standard hospital care plus a Telehealth Applied Behavior Analysis for Hospitalized Adolescents and Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder (TeleABA) program. The TeleABA program includes assessment by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), individualized behavior support recommendations, coaching for hospital staff, caregiver training, discharge planning, and four weekly telehealth sessions with caregivers after the participant leaves the hospital.

Researchers will compare the two groups to determine whether the TeleABA program improves behavioral outcomes, caregiver confidence and stress, hospital experiences, and the transition from the hospital to home. The findings may help identify more effective ways to support individuals with autism and their families during and after behavioral health hospitalizations.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who require psychiatric hospitalization because of severe challenging behaviors often have complex behavioral support needs that may not be fully addressed through standard inpatient care alone. Behavioral crises during hospitalization can contribute to prolonged length of stay, increased use of restrictive interventions, caregiver distress, and challenges during the transition from hospital to home.

This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether adding a Telehealth Applied Behavior Analysis (TeleABA) intervention to standard inpatient behavioral health care improves clinical, caregiver, and hospital outcomes compared with standard hospital care alone.

Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either standard hospital care or standard hospital care plus TeleABA. Standard hospital care includes routine inpatient behavioral health services provided by the treating hospital, including psychiatric evaluation, medication management, nursing care, therapeutic programming, and discharge planning.

The TeleABA intervention is delivered by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and includes caregiver interviews, behavioral assessment, functional assessment when indicated, individualized behavior support recommendations, consultation and coaching for hospital staff, caregiver training, discharge planning, and four weekly telehealth caregiver coaching sessions following hospital discharge to support implementation of behavior support strategies and continuity of care.

The primary outcome is change in irritability measured using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Irritability (ABC-I). Secondary outcomes include clinician-rated improvement and severity, hospital length of stay, use of restrictive interventions, caregiver transition outcomes, and family perceptions of care. Assessments will be conducted during hospitalization and through 6 weeks after hospital discharge.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New Jersey
      • Neptune City, New Jersey, United States, 07753
        • Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Tom Priolo, M.D.
      • Somerset, New Jersey, United States, 08873
        • Children's Specialized Hospital-Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services (CSH-RUCARES)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 12 years or older.
  • Established or documented diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the electronic medical record or confirmed by the attending provider using DSM-5 criteria.
  • Admitted to a participating Hackensack Meridian Health hospital due to behavioral concerns (e.g., aggression, self-injury, elopement, or property destruction) that contribute to or prolong hospitalization.
  • Behavioral support identified by the attending provider as a primary component of the current admission.
  • Caregiver or legally authorized representative (LAR) able to provide informed consent.
  • Patient assent obtained when applicable.
  • Voluntary, court-mandated, and ward-of-the-state admissions are eligible.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Admission for an acute medical condition in which behavioral concerns are not a primary driver of hospitalization.
  • Medical instability that precludes participation in telehealth sessions.
  • Absence of a caregiver or legally authorized representative able to provide informed consent.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Standard Hospital Care
Participants will receive standard inpatient behavioral health care provided by the hospital, including psychiatric evaluation, medication management, nursing care, therapeutic programming, and discharge planning. Participants in this arm will not receive the TeleABA intervention.
Behavioral: Standard Hospital Care
Standard inpatient behavioral health care provided by the hospital, including psychiatric evaluation, medication management, nursing care, therapeutic programming, and discharge planning in accordance with routine clinical practice.
Experimental: Standard Hospital Care + Telehealth Applied Behavior Analysis (TeleABA)
Participants will receive standard inpatient behavioral health care plus the TeleABA intervention. The TeleABA intervention includes behavioral assessment, individualized behavior support recommendations, coaching for hospital staff, caregiver training, discharge planning, and four weekly telehealth caregiver coaching sessions following hospital discharge.
Behavioral: Telehealth Applied Behavior Analysis (TeleABA)
The TeleABA intervention is a telehealth-delivered applied behavior analysis (ABA) program designed to support adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder during hospitalization and the transition to home. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) conducts caregiver interviews, behavioral assessment, functional assessment when indicated, and develops individualized behavior support recommendations. The intervention includes consultation and coaching for hospital staff, caregiver training, discharge planning, and four weekly telehealth caregiver coaching sessions following hospital discharge to support implementation of behavior support strategies and continuity of care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Irritability (ABC-I) Score
Time Frame: Assessed at baseline (hospital admission), at hospital discharge, and at 2 and 6 weeks post-discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
The Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Irritability Subscale is a caregiver-reported measure of irritability, agitation, aggression, tantrums, and self-injurious behavior. Scores range from 0 to 45, with higher scores indicating greater irritability and more severe behavioral symptoms. The primary outcome is the change from baseline in ABC-I score, comparing participants receiving Hospital TeleABA with those receiving standard care.
Assessed at baseline (hospital admission), at hospital discharge, and at 2 and 6 weeks post-discharge, assessed up to 365 days.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I)
Time Frame: Assessed at hospital discharge and 2 weeks post-discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
The Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) is a clinician-rated measure of overall improvement in behavioral symptoms compared with baseline. Scores range from 1 to 7, where 1 = very much improved, 4 = no change, and 7 = very much worse. Lower scores indicate greater clinical improvement. CGI-I scores will be compared between participants receiving Hospital TeleABA and standard care.
Assessed at hospital discharge and 2 weeks post-discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S)
Time Frame: Assessed at baseline (hospital admission), hospital discharge, and 2 weeks post-discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
The Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) is a clinician-rated measure of the severity of behavioral symptoms at the time of assessment. Scores range from 1 to 7, where 1 = normal, not at all ill and 7 = among the most extremely ill patients. Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. CGI-S scores will be compared between participants receiving Hospital TeleABA and standard care.
Assessed at baseline (hospital admission), hospital discharge, and 2 weeks post-discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
Hospital Length of Stay, days
Time Frame: Day of hospital admission to day of hospital discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
Hospital length of stay, defined as the number of days from hospital admission to hospital discharge, obtained from the electronic health record.
Day of hospital admission to day of hospital discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
Use of Restrictive Interventions
Time Frame: Day of hospital admission to day of hospital discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
Number of manual or chemical restraint events during hospitalization, extracted from the electronic health record.
Day of hospital admission to day of hospital discharge, assessed up to 365 days.
Caregiver Transition Survey
Time Frame: Assessed at baseline (hospital admission), hospital discharge, 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge. Assessed up to 365 days.
The Caregiver Transition Survey is a caregiver-reported questionnaire assessing caregiver distress, confidence managing behavioral and safety needs, confidence implementing discharge recommendations, and crisis readiness. Each item is rated on a 6-point ordinal scale ranging from 0 (Not at all) to 5 (Extremely). Individual item ratings will be compared between groups.
Assessed at baseline (hospital admission), hospital discharge, 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge. Assessed up to 365 days.
Family Perception of Care Survey Item Ratings
Time Frame: Assessed at hospital discharge, 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge. Assessed up to 365 days.
The Family Perception of Care Survey includes caregiver-reported ordinal item ratings of perceived benefit of behavioral consultation, perceived reduction in support needs, perceived safety, and readiness to return home. Individual ordinal survey item ratings will be compared between groups.
Assessed at hospital discharge, 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge. Assessed up to 365 days.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Caring Technologies, Inc.

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Hackensack Meridian Health
Rutgers University
Center for Social Dynamics

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ron Oberleitner, Caring Technologies, Inc.
  • Principal Investigator: Joy Pollard, Ph.D., Center for Social Dynamics

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TeleABA-WCG-20253445
  • 5R44MH134706-03 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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