As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to rise, large numbers of individuals with ASD are estimated to be entering young adulthood each year. While exploring factors that support success in adulthood, some studies have found that higher expectations of a parent, a teacher, and a student with ASD may predict more positive young adulthood outcomes for students. Additionally, summer transition programs have recently emerged as a means of providing services to transition-aged youth with ASD, to support their entering adulthood. Yet, little research has been done to understand how future expectations for a student with ASD are formed, specifically as they relate to participation in a summer transition program. A qualitative case study was conducted to better understand how a student with ASD, a parent, and a teacher described the student’s abilities and expectations for his future, before and after participating in a summer transition program. Although the student’s perspective did not change over time, both his parent and teacher shifted their understandings of his abilities and expectations for his future, becoming more nuanced in their descriptions and optimistic about the student’s future. Further research is needed to better understand the impacts and maintenance of these shifted understandings, as well as to identify specific transition program features that contributed to these shifts. / 2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

INTRODUCTION: The OTPN at Massachusetts General Hospital works to reduce barriers to care and implement tailored accommodations to improve patients with ASD/IDD access to and participation in healthcare. A quality improvement project was conducted to understand the OTPN interventions perceived as valuable by the recipients of care. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE AND EVIDENCE: Patients with ASD/IDD experience unmet healthcare needs and low patient satisfaction when accessing healthcare. Wagner’s Chronic Care Model was used as a framework to understand the factors that contribute to this problem. Current literature provides evidence-based strategies to improve the quality of care for patients with ASD when accessing healthcare services, but lacks descriptive evidence from the patient and caregiver perspective. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three clients of the OTPN (one former patient with ASD and two parents of former patients). Using the phenomenological method, data was collected and analyzed to develop themes identified among participants. A follow-up interview with the OTPN obtained the OT perspective that informed the interventions valued by project participants. RESULTS: Participants identified barriers to care prior to collaborating with the OTPN, as well as valued OTPN interventions that involved patient-centered anticipatory planning, advocacy, and coordination of care. The OTPN used her OT perspective to understand the intersection of the person, environment and occupation to inform interventions that improved the patient experience. CONCLUSION: Customized interventions provided by the OTPN were highly valued by previous clients and were perceived to improve their healthcare experience by addressing unique patient needs and preferences.

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Presently, the DSM is undergoing revision in anticipation of the publication of the DSM-5 in 2013 (APA, 2010a). The Neurodevelopmental Disorders DSM-5 workgroup has suggested that Asperger’s Disorder (AS) and Autistic Disorder (AD) be subsumed into a new, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis (APA, 2010b). This project reviews researcher methodologies for the description, study inclusion/exclusion, and assessment of individuals with AS and AD in 100 highly cited articles from high-impact journals. Results demonstrate that researchers’ methodologies are highly variable. Additionally, all researchers do not use the “gold standard” combination of the ADOS and the ADI-R for assessing AS and AD. The use of inconsistent and potentially inappropriate methodologies in the literature suggests it may be preemptive to base the proposed DSM-5 revision on the incomparable results in the research.

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