Song Wei, Salzer Mark S, Kaplan Katy, Wong Mi-Yeet, Uppal Disha, Shea Lindsay L
A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Community Ment Health J. 2024 Jan;60(1):154-159. doi: 10.1007/s10597-023-01174-2. Epub 2023 Aug 9.
There is little research on the effectiveness of autistic peer-delivered services. This study examines early outcomes associated with the Community Autism Peer Specialist program (CAPS), which was created in partnership with autistic individuals and is delivered by autistic adults who have received training in the delivery of peer support services to enhance the community functioning of autistic youth and adults. A single group pre-test/post-test design was used to examine early outcomes in the areas of independent living needs, social functioning, service engagement, and quality of life. A total of 23 individuals with autism aged 14-41 years were included in the study. Reductions were found in social functioning impairments and unmet needs after three months in the program. Participants also reported greater engagement in mental health services and activities that promote wellness compared with before the program. This study suggests that peer support services delivered by autistic peers may be an effective intervention approach for autistic youth and adults. Future studies with a more rigorous study design (e.g., randomized controlled trials), a larger sample size, and longer-term outcome measurements are needed to further investigate the effectiveness of CAPS and similar autistic-delivered services.
关于自闭症同伴提供服务的有效性研究较少。本研究考察了与社区自闭症同伴专家项目（CAPS）相关的早期结果，该项目是与自闭症患者合作创建的，由接受过同伴支持服务提供培训的自闭症成年人实施，旨在提高自闭症青少年和成年人的社区功能。采用单组前测/后测设计来考察在独立生活需求、社会功能、服务参与和生活质量等方面的早期结果。共有23名年龄在14至41岁的自闭症患者参与了该研究。在项目进行三个月后，发现社会功能障碍和未满足需求有所减少。与项目实施前相比，参与者还报告称在促进健康的心理健康服务和活动方面参与度更高。本研究表明，自闭症同伴提供的同伴支持服务可能是针对自闭症青少年和成年人的一种有效干预方法。需要采用更严格研究设计（如随机对照试验）、更大样本量和长期结果测量的未来研究，以进一步调查CAPS及类似的由自闭症患者提供的服务的有效性。
