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Exploring Team Implementation Factors of Vocational Training for Autistic Transition-Age Youth 

Awardee: Rachel Schuck, PhD. - SDSU 

Co-Investigator(s): Mary Baker-Ericzen, PhD. 

Autistic people are consistently un/underemployed compared to neurotypical peers and other disability groups (Shattuck et al., 2012; Vincent & Ralston, 2020). Preparation for and ensuring access to employment must begin during the teen years – typically 16 to 25 (APA, 2022) – when individuals are known as transition age youth (TAY). Implementation of transition programs is dependent on successful teamwork, as collaborative teams are a hallmark of transition services (Sansosti et al., 2017). Transition services are school-based services for disabled TAY designed to help with the transition to post-secondary life. Transition teams are mandated to include a parent, general education teacher, special education teacher, representatives from other agencies designated to provide educational services, and (if possible) the youth themselves (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 2020). Little research has been done on specific aspects of these collaborative teams, such as which team mechanisms are working well and which are not. This presents a unique opportunity to study the effectiveness of “naturally-occurring” transition teams in the hopes of eventually understanding how to best support such teams. This project aims to explore factors of team effectiveness theory that can influence EBP (i.e TAY-SUCCESS) implementation, acceptability, and feasibility within the context of a completed randomized controlled trial of TAY-SUCCESS. More specifically, this project has three aims:

Specific Aims: 

  1. Elucidate team mechanisms (such as communication, leadership, shared mental models, etc.) that are functioning well in vocational transition programs and identify which may need additional support.  
  2. Ascertain team members’ perspectives on implementation outcomes (e.g acceptability) and identify variations in such outcomes based on team inputs (e.g., team member characteristics) and school site. 
  3. Understand strategies that transition team members feel would be helpful in enhancing team effectiveness within the context of implementing a program such as TAY SUCCESS. 

Research Design and Methods

 This project will use a hybrid convergent and explanatory mixed-method design with both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Specifically, consecutively gathered survey and interview data from community leaders and educators from prior studies will be analyzed. This secondary analysis will be used to inform collection of qualitative data from public and non-public high schools who intend to utilize the TAY-SUCCESS program (and/or other similar programs) in the future.