Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism Version

NCT07508436 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: CHLA-25-003596UM4MC54988-01-03
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 70
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the initial feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism version (CIPP-A) for providers serving autistic youth in outpatient settings. The main question aims to answer:

• Assess whether CIPP-A is feasible and acceptable to providers in development behavioral pediatric clinics?
• Assess whether CIPP-A shows initial effectiveness in increasing providers confidence in managing suicide risk in autistic youth? If there is a comparison group: Researchers will compare CIPP-A to general safety planning intervention (SPI) on feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness. Participants will be randomized to receive training in SPI or CIPP-A and complete online surveys and interviews over 6-months to measure feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness.

Conditions

Autism; Suicide Prevention

Keywords

Autism; Suicide Prevention; Safety Planning Intervention; Pediatric Clinics

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Feasibility: Number of times that providers use SPI or CIPP-A in 6 months

  The feasibility of SPI and CIPP-A will be assessed by an online survey of the number of times that providers used SPI/CIPP-A with autistic patients in 6 months. Higher scores indicate greater feasibility and use of SPI/CIPP-A (i.e., better outcome).The survey will be administered three times from baseline to 6 months.

  Baseline to 6 months

• Acceptability: Acceptability of Intervention Measure

  The Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) will be administered to providers to assess perceived acceptability of SPI and CIPP-A. The AIM is a widely used measure of the extent to which stakeholders believe an intervention is satisfactory in a given setting (e.g., "I like SPI"). The AIM items are scored on a 5-point scale (1, completely disagree to 5, completely agree), with total scores ranging from 5-25. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability (i.e., better outcome). The AIM will be administered three times from baseline to 6 months.

  Baseline to 6 months

• Initial Effectiveness: Providers confidence in using SPI or CIPP-A

  A series of visual analog scales (VAS; 0-100%) will be used to measure changes in providers' confidence in managing patient crises over the study, with total scores ranging from 0-100. Higher scores indicate greater effectiveness (i.e., better outcome). The VAS will be administered three times from baseline to 6 months.

  Baseline to 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Feasibility of Intervention Measure

  Baseline to 6 months

• Fidelity of implementation

  6 months

• Semi-structured interview to assess intervention feasibility

  6 months

Study Arms (2)

Safety Planning Intervention

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The SPI is a brief, evidence-based suicide prevention intervention for youth and adults that can be delivered by diverse providers.

Behavioral: Safety Planning Intervention

Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism version (CIPP-A)

EXPERIMENTAL

The CIPP-A is a brief suicide prevention intervention for youth and adults that can be delivered by diverse providers and has been adapted for autistic youth.

Behavioral: Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism version (CIPP-A)

Interventions

Safety Planning Intervention BEHAVIORAL

The Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) is leading, evidence-based intervention that manages risks associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth. The SPI is delivered by providers to youth and their parents/guardians and focuses on teaching the family a series of safety planning steps to keep youth safe as they experience suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors. The SPI can be delivered by providers to families in person or virtually during clinic visits, and shows effectiveness in increasing child safety. Further, the SPI is a flexible intervention that can be delivered by a variety of healthcare professionals (e.g., pediatricians, social workers, nurses, etc.). The SPI has been found to be effective when delivered in emergency, inpatient, and outpatient settings; in this study, the SPI will be delivered by providers in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatric (DBP) settings.

Safety Planning Intervention

Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism version (CIPP-A) BEHAVIORAL

The CIPP-A is an autism-specific crisis intervention for pediatric providers co-developed by the PI (licensed psychologist) and autistic people, which was published in Pediatrics. Similar to the SPI, CIPP-A is delivered by providers to youth and their parents and focuses on teaching the family a series of crisis interventions to keep youth safe as they experience suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors, with autism-specific adaptations. Autism-specific adaptations include warning signs (e.g., sensory overload, social burnout) that may be unique to this population, as well as coping skills (e.g., quiet time alone in sensory friendly environment, engagement in preferred interests). The CIPP-A contains an overview of autism and how suicidal thoughts/behaviors may present differently in this population. The CIPP-A can be delivered by providers to families in person or virtually during clinic visits. Further, the CIPP-A is can be flexibly delivered by a variety of healthcare professionals.

Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism version (CIPP-A)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Pediatric healthcare providers serving autistic youth in a DBP clinic in the U.S.
• Willing and able to participate in the study and its activities, including remote training in either SPI or CIPP-A (depending on randomization)
• Willing and able to provide informed consent
• Comfortable speaking or communicating in English

You may not qualify if:

• Pediatric healthcare providers not serving autistic youth
• Pediatric healthcare providers not practicing in a DBP clinic in the U.S.
• Unwilling and unable to participate in the study and its activities
• Unwilling and unable to provide informed consent
• Not comfortable speaking or communicating in English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Children's Hospital Los Angeles: lead
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, 90027, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autistic Disorder; Suicide Prevention

Interventions

Crisis Intervention

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Suicide; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Jessica Schwartzman, PhD

  Children's Hospital Los Angeles

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Jessica M Schwartzman, PhD

CONTACT

323-207-5910; trendlab@chla.usc.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Medical Staff/USC Faculty CWR

Model Details: Pediatric providers will be randomized 1:1 to receive training in Safety Planning Intervention (SPI; control condition) or Crisis Interventions for Pediatric Providers - Autism version (CIPP-A)

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 27, 2026
• First Posted: April 2, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028
• Last Updated: April 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)