Recruiting

Employment Program

Sponsor:

Lawrence Fung

Code:

NCT04107064

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 55

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

NaW

NaW-DS

Study Details

Brief summary:

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have significantly higher levels of unemployment and underemployment compared to their typically developing peers and all other groups with neurodevelopmental disorders, even though major companies that have employed and trained young people with ASD acclaim their significant innovations in their companies. The investigators hope to examine the effects of specialized employment support programs, over current traditional vocational rehabilitation approaches, for adults with ASD on their ability to maintain steady employment and overall benefit to the organizations at which they will be employed.

The investigators predict that Stanford University's Neurodiversity at Work (NaW) Program will improve employment outcomes and positively impact the overall quality of life of individuals with ASD in this program. The investigators hope that the findings of the study will lead to the advancement of programs aimed to support individuals with ASD.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism

Study ID

NCT04107064

Start date

Sep 30, 2019

Status verified date

Nov, 2023

Completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 55

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Moderately functioning group of participants:

  • Males and females with ASD
  • Between the ages of 18-55
  • No significant current psychosocial stressors per history
  • Able to travel to work independently
  • Attended either an internship program, pre-employment training, or both
  • Possess an IQ between 60 and 90
  • High functioning group of participants:

  • Males and females with ASD
  • Between the ages of 18-55
  • No significant current psychosocial stressors per history
  • Able to travel to work independently
  • Attended either an internship program, pre-employment training, or both
  • Possess a college degree
  • Possess an IQ of 90 or above

Exclusion criteria:

  • DSM-5 diagnosis of other severe psychiatric disorder such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Study Design

Enrollment

80 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Neurodiversity at Work (NaW) Group

Individuals in this group will receive a 6-week Autism at Work pre-employment training. Upon onboarding, each individual will be supported by a team manager, a team buddy, a peer mentor, a job/life skills coach, a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and a personal counselor. Ongoing support for members of support circles will be provided during the 12 weeks immediately after onboarding.

experimental: Neurodiversity at Work - Delayed Start (NaW-DS)

Participants in this group will receive typical orientation for neurotypical employees after onboarding. The support of peer mentor, job/life skills coach, vocational rehabilitation counselor, and a personal counselor will start 6 months after onboarding. Managers, co-workers, team buddies and mentors for all recruited and hired employees in both groups will receive the same specialized training to enhance their abilities to work with individuals with ASD.

Interventions

NaW

Participants will receive assistance with finding employment, onboarding, training, and so on.

NaW-DS

Participants will receive assistance with onboarding and training 6 months after the initiation of their employment.

Primary outcome measure

  • Job Retention Rates [ Time Frame: Before onboarding for NaW arm; 6 months after onboarding for NaW-DS arm; 15 months after onboarding for both arms. ]
  • Duration of Sustained Employment [ Time Frame: 15 months after onboarding. ]
  • Costs of Employee Turnover [ Time Frame: 15 months after onboarding. ]
  • Rates of Job Offers [ Time Frame: 15 months after onboarding. ]
  • World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment [WHOQOL-100] [ Time Frame: At screening, 3 months after onboarding at job position, 6 months after onboarding, 12 months after onboarding, 15 months after onboarding, 18 months after onboarding. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Lawrence K Fung, MD, PhD

6504989392lkfung@stanford.edu

Locations

Stanford University School of Medicine

Recruiting

Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304

More Information

Sponsor

Lawrence Fung

Last update posted

Nov 28, 2023

Last verified

Nov, 2023

Keywords

  • Neurodiversity
  • ASD
  • Employment
  • Neurodiverse

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Lawrence Fung on 2023-11-28.