No abstract

Addressing the challenges of adolescents and emerging adults with autism spectrum disorder is crucial to improving the outcomes of these students in the postsecondary setting. Although secondary and postsecondary educators and staff are critical to helping these students access services, there has been little investigation into the perspectives of this stakeholder group, with respect to the needs of postsecondary students with autism spectrum disorder. A series of focus groups was conducted with secondary and postsecondary educators to understand educator perspectives related to the challenges faced by postsecondary students with autism spectrum disorder. Competence, autonomy and independence, and the development and sustainment of interpersonal relationships emerged as primary areas of difficulty and corresponding need. Results suggest that targeted interventions addressing these areas should be implemented, prior to and during enrollment in a postsecondary setting, to facilitate transition in a comprehensive manner.

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with emotion regulation (ER), which is developmentally preceded by lability/negative affect (L/N), and their parents face unique challenges to parenting and providing assistance. The Stress and Anger Management Program (STAMP) is a cognitive-behavioral treatment designed to address ER deficits in young children with ASD through child skill-building and parent training. The current study evaluated child L/N, ER, and parental confidence outcomes in 4- to 7-year-old children with ASD (N = 23; 19 boys) and their parents randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 12) or a waitlist control group (n = 11). Child L/N decreased, regulation was not significantly changed, and parental confidence regarding the child's ability to manage anger and anxiety increased from pre- to posttreatment in the treatment group, but not in the waitlist group. Implications for future interventions that address ER in children with ASD and their parents are discussed.

No abstract