Improving Transition to Adulthood for Students with Autism: A Randomized Controlled Trial of STEPS.

Emerging adulthood is a period of heightened risk for young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Due in part to lack of evidence-based services and supports during the transition to adulthood, many emerging adults fail to matriculate into postsecondary education or thrive in productive employment. The Stepped Transition in Education Program for Students with ASD (STEPS) was developed to address the psychosocial, transition-related needs of emerging adults with ASD. Adolescents and emerging adults (n = 59) with ASD were randomly assigned to either STEPS or Transition as Usual (TAU). Results indicate that STEPS is acceptable to young people with ASD and their parents and that it can be implemented with high fidelity. Among secondary school students, those who completed STEPS exhibited significantly greater gains in transition readiness from high school and these gains were largely sustained after program completion. Among students enrolled in postsecondary education, STEPS resulted in increased levels of student adaptation to college relative to those in TAU. Programming to address ASD-related challenges can promote successful educational transitions.

新兴成年期对于患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的年轻人来说是一个风险较高的时期。部分原因是在向成年期过渡期间缺乏基于证据的服务和支持，许多新兴成年人未能进入高等教育机构学习，也未能在生产性就业中取得良好发展。针对自闭症谱系障碍学生的教育分步过渡计划（STEPS）是为了满足患有自闭症谱系障碍的新兴成年人的心理社会及与过渡相关的需求而制定的。 患有自闭症谱系障碍的青少年和新兴成年人（n = 59）被随机分配到STEPS组或常规过渡组（TAU）。 结果表明，STEPS对患有自闭症谱系障碍的年轻人及其父母来说是可接受的，并且可以高度保真地实施。在中学生中，完成STEPS的学生在从高中过渡的准备方面有显著更大的进步，并且这些进步在项目完成后基本得以保持。在接受高等教育的学生中，与常规过渡组相比，STEPS使学生对大学的适应水平有所提高。 针对自闭症谱系障碍相关挑战制定的计划可以促进成功的教育过渡。