Development of MENU Protocol

This project addresses health disparities by offering proactive support during a critical period when services are typically unavailable to minoritized families due to systemic delays, insurance restrictions, and limited access to care. Early autism intervention is considered a gold standard for promoting optimal child and family outcomes, yet many families remain underserved due to a lack of diagnosis. MENU aims to mitigate this disparity by providing preemptive intervention prior to formal diagnosis to improve caregiver mental health, reduce developmental delays, and enhance families' capacity to advocate for their children. The broader impact of this approach includes reducing downstream educational and health disparities, informing public insurance policy, and establishing a scalable framework for equitable early autism intervention. By introducing high-quality, scalable supports delivered before a formal diagnosis, MENU challenges conventional service timelines and establishes a new model of early autism care in Texas and other states. Key implementation challenges include recruitment and retention of underserved families and maintaining cultural and contextual relevance while providing timely support. These challenges will be mitigated through partnerships with trusted community-based organizations composed of caregivers, service providers, and autistic self-advocates. To support successful implementation, the project includes collaborations with grassroots organizations serving caregivers of autistic children (e.g., Texas Parent to Parent, Autism Society of Texas), racially or economically minoritized families (e.g., VELA, La Puerta Waco, Compassion Waco). Project success will be measured through quantitative and qualitative data aligned with the Project Work Plan. Outcome metrics include reductions in caregiver stress (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form), improvements in child communication (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales or Social Communication Questionnaire), improvements in challenging behaviors (Behavior Assessment System for Children), module completion rates, caregiver satisfaction, and implementation outcomes such as feasibility (Feasibility of Intervention Measure), acceptability (Acceptability of Intervention Measure), and usability (Intervention Usability Scale). Data will be collected at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up, along with semi-structured interviews to assess sustained impact. The intervention period will last approximately 16 weeks, allowing sufficient time for meaningful engagement, skill acquisition, and observable outcomes. The project team includes interdisciplinary faculty members from the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University with extensive experience supporting underserved families of young autistic children and strong research-practice partnerships. Community partners, including Texas Early Childhood Intervention agencies and minority-serving advocacy organizations, will contribute to participant recruitment, intervention refinement, validation, and statewide dissemination.