In The Politics of Autism, I write about the experiences of different economic, ethnic and racial groups. Inequality is a big part of the story.
Families of transition-aged youth with autism often struggle to access services. Due to systemic barriers, Latino, Spanish-speaking families of autistic youth especially struggle to access services. One way to improve service access is through parent advocacy abilities (i.e., knowledge of adult services, advocacy abilities and comfort, empowerment). To improve parent advocacy abilities and, ultimately, service access, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the feasibility and efficacy of an advocacy program: ASISTIR (Apoyando a nueStros hIjo/as con autiSmo obTener servIcios de tRansición; Supporting our Children with Autism to Obtain Transition Services). Of the 30 participants who were retained for analyses, intervention (vs. waitlist-control) group participants demonstrated significant increases in knowledge about adult services, advocacy activities, advocacy skills and comfort, and empowerment. Further, intervention (vs. waitlist-control) group participants demonstrated significantly greater service access. Implications for research and practice are discussed.Summary
Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov: NCT06207149
- It can be hard to find services for autistic youth.
- There are unique barriers to services for Latino autistic youth.
- To improve access to services, we tested an advocacy program (called ASISTIR).
- The ASISTIR program was comprised of 24 h of instruction about adult services.
- Altogether, 30 families participated in the study.
- Some families were randomized to the intervention group, and some families were randomized to the waitlist-control group.
- Families in the intervention group were significantly more likely to be knowledgeable about adult services, comfortable with advocacy, and empowered.
- Intervention group families also reported greater services.
