Transitioning Together Boston

NCT05599711 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: H-43047
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 48
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine the effects of an adapted family-centered autism transition intervention called Transitioning Together/Juntos en la Transición on meaningful outcomes for families. The study will occur in a safety net hospital setting. The adapted version of this multi-family group psychoeducation intervention is delivered across one individual family joining session and four 2.5 hour multi-family group sessions. The parent and youth groups are held in separately, at the same time.

Conditions

Autism or Autistic Traits; Family Relations

Keywords

Multi-family group intervention sessions; Psychoeducational autism transition-to-adulthood; Problem-solving education; Quality of life of autistic youth; Goal attainment; Parent-youth dyad

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in quality of life of autistic youth

  The Global Health, Emotional Distress, Subjective Well-Being, and Relationships sub scales of the NIH Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS) will be administered via parent proxy (and youth self-report when appropriate) to asses the quality of life for autistic youth. Item scores can range from 1 to 5 and higher scores are associated with a higher quality of life.

  Baseline, 3-12 months

• Change in transition-related goal attainment

  The Goal Attainment Scaling will be administered to asses transition-related goal attainment. It is a valid and reliable technique to benchmark success in meeting individualized goals. Scores can range from 0 to 4 and higher scores are associated with better goal attainment.

  Baseline, 3-12 months

• Change in youth problem behaviors

  The Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised Problem Behavior Scale will be administered to assess frequency and severity of problem behaviors in youth. It is a parent-report questionnaire. For problem behaviors that occurred, items scores can range from 1 to 5 for frequency and severity, with a higher score associated with higher frequency and higher severity of the problem behavior.

  Baseline, 3-12 months

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Change in family empowerment

  Baseline, 3-12 months

• Change in coping

  Baseline, 3-12 months

• Change in social support

  Baseline, 3-12 months

• Change in perceived burden

  Baseline, 3-12 months

• Change in parental well-being

  Baseline, 3-12 months

Other Outcomes (3)

• Intervention acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility

  3-12 months

• Intervention Satisfaction

  At the conclusion of each group session

• Intervention Engagement

  At the conclusion of each group session

Study Arms (2)

Transitioning Together

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive the Transitioning Together intervention in English or Spanish either at BMC, at BMC's Supporting Parents \& Resilient Kids (SPARK) Center or on BMC Zoom.

Behavioral: Transitioning Together (TT) / Juntos en la Transicion (JET)

Usual Care

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in this arm will receive a referral to usual transition-related care through the BMC Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) clinic/the BMC Autism Program.

Behavioral: Usual autism transition care

Interventions

Transitioning Together (TT) / Juntos en la Transicion (JET) BEHAVIORAL

1. One individual family joining session when each family dyad meets with group therapists to establish rapport and share their own unique family's background, goals, and supports. 2. A series of four 2.5-hour multi-family group psychoeducation intervention sessions focused on problem-solving education and psychoeducational autism transition-to-adulthood content which can include independence in adulthood, community involvement, guardianship and legal issues, employment and education, health and well-being.

Transitioning Together

Usual autism transition care BEHAVIORAL

An expedited referral will be made for participants to establish care with a BMC Autism Program Transition/Resource Specialist. Data will be abstracted from the electronic medical record on how many visits each family completes with a BMC Autism Program Transition/Resource Specialist or other BMC Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics provider throughout the study period.

Usual Care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 14 Years - 21 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age 14 to 21 years old
• Be enrolled in high school or a specialized continued schooling program for youth ages 18 to 21.
• Has been seen at BMC at least once since 2015
• Confirmation of the autism diagnosis
• Currently live at home with a parent/legal guardian
• A parent/legal guardian who meets the below criteria
• Age at least 21 years old
• Parent/legal guardian of a youth who meets the youth criteria
• Parent/legal guardian is comfortable reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English and/or Spanish

You may not qualify if:

• A primary home language for the family is not English or Spanish (the intervention and assessments are only available in English and Spanish)
• The autistic youth currently resides independently, in supported housing, or with a foster family or other Department of Children and Families (DCF) placement
• Either the youth or their parent/guardian chooses not to participate in the study (one cannot participate without the other)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston Medical Center: lead
• Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Research Fund: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Boston Medical Center

Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autistic Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Study Officials

• Jocelyn L Kuhn, PhD

  Emory School of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Mei Elansary, MD

  Boston Medical Center, Pediatrics

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 26, 2022
• First Posted: October 31, 2022
• Study Start: February 10, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Last Updated: November 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)