Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
J Neurodev Disord. 2021 Oct 8;13(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s11689-021-09395-w.
Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have lower engagement in their communities, higher rates of unemployment/underemployment, and continued difficulties with challenging behavior compared to their neurotypical peers. Multi-family psychoeducation emphasizes education and problem-solving with the goal of improving these outcomes for the individual with the disability.
Using a randomized waitlist control design, the present study evaluated a multi-family group psychoeducation intervention, Working Together, for adults on the autism spectrum without intellectual disability (n = 40). Five waves of data were collected at 3-month intervals. In this design, families in the intervention condition participated in intervention during the 6 months between baseline and time 3 data collection; the waitlist control condition received the intervention immediately after the time 3 data collection. We compared these two conditions, intervention group (n = 20) vs waitlist control group (n = 20), on key outcomes for the adults with ASD: engagement in work-related activities, engagement in meaningful activities, and behavior problems.
Results indicated medium to large effect sizes associated with the Working Together intervention across key outcomes, including adults on the spectrum experiencing significant increases in meaningful activities and decreases in internalizing problems. Although increases in work-related activities were not statistically significant, an observed one-half of a standard deviation difference from before to after the intervention indicated clinically significant change. We also found maintenance of the treatment effect through 6 months post-treatment for the intervention group and replication of the treatment effect within the control group after they received the intervention.
Working Together is a promising multi-family group psychoeducation intervention designed to improve functioning during adulthood. These findings highlight the need for more intervention services research during adulthood and specifically the need for family-centered supports.
与神经典型同龄人相比，患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的成年人在社区参与度较低、失业率/就业不足率较高，以及持续存在挑战性行为问题。多家庭心理教育强调教育和解决问题，旨在改善残疾个体的这些结果。
本研究采用随机等待对照设计，评估了一种多家庭团体心理教育干预措施——共同努力（Working Together），该措施适用于没有智力障碍的自闭症谱系成年人（n=40）。在 3 个月的间隔内收集了 5 波数据。在这种设计中，干预组的家庭在基线和第 3 次数据收集之间的 6 个月内参加干预；等待对照组在第 3 次数据收集后立即接受干预。我们比较了这两种情况，即干预组（n=20）与等待对照组（n=20），对于自闭症谱系成年人的关键结果：与工作相关的活动参与度、有意义的活动参与度和行为问题。
结果表明，共同努力干预措施在关键结果方面具有中等至较大的效果，包括谱系成年人在有意义的活动方面经历了显著的增加，内化问题方面的减少。虽然与工作相关的活动增加没有统计学上的显著差异，但从干预前到干预后的观察到的半标准差差异表明了临床显著的变化。我们还发现，干预组在治疗后 6 个月内保持了治疗效果，而对照组在接受干预后复制了治疗效果。
共同努力是一种有前途的多家庭团体心理教育干预措施，旨在改善成年人的功能。这些发现强调了在成年期需要更多的干预服务研究，特别是需要以家庭为中心的支持。
