Transitioning Together: A Multi-family Group Psychoeducation Program for Adolescents with ASD and Their Parents.

Despite random assignment, the intervention group had higher adolescent IQ at baseline than the control group, and IQ was controlled in the analyses. The final sample was small, and families were mostly White, highly educated and recruited through autism groups, clinics and university registries. The study included only adolescents who were verbally fluent and mostly in general education, so it says little about adolescents with higher support needs. Only one parent per family provided outcome data, so the study cannot show how both parents or the family system changed. Most outcomes were parent-reported, and the control group was a waitlist comparison rather than an active treatment. The intervention combined joining sessions, parent education, problem-solving practice, teen social activities and ongoing resources, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. There was only immediate post-intervention data, with no longer follow-up to test whether effects lasted.

The named authors declared no conflict of interest. The supplied text does not report a funding source.

Do not conclude that this program reduces autism symptoms or general life stress. Autism symptoms and general life stress did not show significant group-by-time differences, and the program combined joining sessions, parent education, problem-solving practice, teen social activities and ongoing resources, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated.