Academic Needs in Middle School: Perspectives of Parents and Youth with Autism.
Leanne Tamm, Amie Duncan, Aaron Vaughn and 4 others
PMID 30911979WHAT IT FOUND
A seven-session planning and organization group for youth with autism had full attendance and high parent satisfaction, but youth reported low understanding.
Focus groups linked planning problems to missed homework and middle-school demands.
Key findings
01Parents reported improvements on organization and homework measures after the group.
02Youth rated their understanding of structured work systems as 2.0 and time management as 3.3.
03Youth and parents said difficulty remembering to do or turn in homework led to missing assignments and affected grades.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only three youth took part in the uncontrolled trial, so the score changes cannot be compared with a control group. Participants had IQ of at least 80 and were not receiving pullout special education for most of the day, so results may not apply to more impaired students or those in special education classes. The trial used a modified ADHD curriculum delivered by psychologists, and treatment fidelity was not assessed. Youth reported low understanding of the content, and the paper says the intervention needs further revision. Focus groups were descriptive, from one community, mostly mothers, and did not include teachers or IEP team members. The focus groups did not reach saturation within each group. Parent-reported measures were the main trial outcomes.
Declared interests
All authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied text gives no sponsor, funding, or conflict details beyond this declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this seven-session planning and organization group works for middle-school youth with autism. Only three participants were studied without a control group, youth reported low understanding of the content, and the paper says the intervention needs further revision before testing.