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NCT Number: NCT06255925

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Autism Autism Spectrum Disorder Autistic Disorder Child Development Disorders, Pervasive Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Age range

14 year–26 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Kessler Foundation

East Hanover, New Jersey, 07936, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Helen Genova, Ph. D.

CONTACT

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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

Treatment and study plan

KF-STRIDE® Into Work!

Behavioral

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

Primary outcomes

  1. Parent Report Employment Questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

  2. Work Self-Efficacy Scale

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    10 items, scores range from 10-50 with higher scores indicating perceived work capability.

  3. Strengths Self-Efficacy Scale

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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

  4. Strengths Knowledge and Strengths Use Scale(SKUS)

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

  5. Flourishing(FS)

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    Measure of well-being and "flourishing". Values range from 8-56, with higher score indicating a better outcome.

  6. Patients Global Impression of Change

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    Measure of perception of intervention resulting in meaningful change for a participant's life. 6 Items, with higher score indicating effectiveness of positive change.

  7. Intervention Effectiveness From Participant Point

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    Measure of perception of intervention resulting in meaningful change for a participant's life. 15 Items, with higher score indicating effectiveness of positive change.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Minnesota Work Satisfaction

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

  2. Job search

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    12 item, 0-60 with the higher score indicating the greater level of job search behaviors.

  3. Search for Work Self-Efficacy Scale

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

  4. Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale(CD-RISC)

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    10 items, scores range from 0 to 40. Lower scores indicate less resilience and higher scores indicate greater resilience.

  5. Voicemail Elicitation Task(VET)/ Email Elicitation Task(EET)

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

  6. Work Chat Assessment

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

  7. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES)

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    Self-report self-esteem questionnaire. Values range from 10-40, with higher score indicating better outcome.

  8. Twenty Statements Task

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediate Post-test between weeks 7 and 8

    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.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Helen Genova, Ph. D.

CONTACT

[email protected]

973-324-8390

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Kessler Foundation

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Feb 13, 2024
Registry last updated
Mar 10, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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