Project Independence

University of Miami70 enrolled

Overview

This project aims to develop and test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of a brief, online single-session intervention (SSI) for caregivers of autistic youth ages 10 to 14. The SSI, called Project Independence, is designed to give caregivers practical tools to support greater independence in daily living routines. To test the SSI, participants will be randomly assigned to either complete Project Independence or watch a time-matched, series of educational video with unrelated content.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Accommodation Daily Activities Independence Autism

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Any adult (age 18+) who is a parent, family member, or legal caregiver and is one of the main adults responsible for the daily care of an autistic youth in the targeted age range for at least half of the time. * Those that currently reside in the United States * Those that have a mobile device (e.g., laptop, tablet, smartphone) or desktop computer and internet access sufficient for the delivery of the study assessments and online intervention * Those who may or may not report current clinically significant psychopathological symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression, parental stress). Exclusion Criteria: * Adults unable to consent * Individuals who are not yet adults (i.e., infants, children, teenagers).

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Perceived Change in Caregiver Confidence

Caregivers will rate their perceived confidence in their ability to support their child in building independence in daily living skills using an 11-point rating scale (developed for the purpose of this study), from 0 ("Not at All Confident") to 10 ("Extremely Confident"). Higher ratings on this item indicate greater perceived confidence to support youth independence in daily living skills.

Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately post-intervention (same session)

Secondary Outcomes

Perceived Change in Caregiver Accommodation

Caregivers will rate the extent to which they provided accommodation in the past week when the identified daily living skills was being completed using an 11-point rating scale (developed for the purpose of this study), from 0 ("Not at all") to 10 ("Completely"). Higher ratings on this item indicate greater perceived accommodation use in the identified daily routine.

Time frame: Immediately post-intervention, 2-week follow-up

Perceived Change in Opportunities for Youth Practice in Independence

Caregivers will rate how often they provided opportunities for their child to practice the identified daily living skill independently using an 11-point rating scale (developed for the purpose of this study), from 0 ("Never") to 10 ("Almost Always"). Higher ratings on this item indicate greater perceived opportunities provided to youth to practice independence the identified daily routine.

Time frame: Immediately post-intervention, 2-week follow-up

Program Feedback Scale (PFS)

Participants will complete the Program Feedback Scale (PFS), an 8 item validated self report measure assessing perceived acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Items are rated on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Really disagree") to 5 ("Really agree"), with higher scores indicating greater perceived acceptability and feasibility.

Time frame: Immediately post-intervention