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Evaluation ViewAttendees 1

Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders
Session Type:: Symposia

Symposium 22 - Adapting and Improving the Implementation of Community-Based Behavioral Interventions for Minoritized Autistic Youth

Friday, November 21, 2025
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM CST
Location: Empire B, Level 2
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Community-Based, Implementation
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Stahmer, A. C., Dababnah, S., & Rieth, S. R. (2019). Considerations in implementing evidence-based early autism spectrum disorder interventions in community settings. Pediatric Medicine, 2, 18. https://doi.org/10.21037/pm.2019.05.01,   Lee, J. D., Kang, V. Y., Terol, A. K., & Joo, S. (2024). Examining the efficacy of culturally responsive interventions for autistic children and their families: A meta-analysis. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1-21.,   Douglas, S. N., Dada, S., Tönsing, K., Samuels, A., & Owusu, P. (2024). Cultural considerations in caregiver-implemented naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions: A scoping review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-14.,   Straiton, D., Pomales-Ramos, A., & Broder-Fingert, S. (2024). Health Equity and Rising Autism Prevalence: Future Research Priorities. Pediatrics, 154(4), e2023064262. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-064262,  

Evidence-based behavioral autism interventions developed in university laboratories for autistic children are rarely implemented by community providers with minoritized families (Stahmer et al., 2019), and training efforts to support community providers to use these interventions often fail to support providers to achieve fidelity benchmarks (e.g., Mandell et al., 2013; Pellecchia et al., 2023). There are well-documented service quality disparities for families of autistic children from minoritized racial/ethnic backgrounds and lower-income backgrounds (see Smith et al., 2020 for a review). However, there is a dearth of research on how to improve community-based behavioral interventions for this population.

This symposium leverages community-engaged research with partners across several community settings (e.g., Part C early intervention, specialty anxiety clinics, community mental health) to identify useful adaptations to – and improved training processes for – CBT and caregiver-mediated naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) for minoritized autistic children. We present a series of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods projects that compile evidence-based approaches from implementation science, intervention and adaptation science, and community-partnered participatory research. Our aim is to promote high-quality implementation of inclusive and effective behavioral therapies for minoritized autistic children and their families.

The first presentation presents results from a community-engaged process to adapt a CBT intervention for anxiety in autistic youth (BIACA) using a Community Advisory Board comprised of autistic adults, caregivers, community providers, and agency leaders. The second presentation uses mixed methods data to characterize community-driven adaptations to a caregiver-mediated NDBI called Project ImPACT delivered in an early intervention system (e.g., augmenting sessions with additional content). The third presentation uses mixed methods data to examine whether self-reported cultural humility, training, and demographic factors predicted adaptation frequency in sessions of a caregiver-mediated NDBI (Project ImPACT), highlighting clinician-requested resources to improve cultural humility. The fourth presentation explores whether minoritized families experience a digital divide in use of telehealth for early intervention services for autism, comparing caregiver engagement and caregiver coaching competency within telehealth and in-person sessions of a caregiver-mediated NDBI (Reciprocal Imitation Training). Finally, the fifth presentation illustrates a tailored implementation toolkit to support caregiver coaching with minoritized families, exploring the effects of consultation dosage and format (e.g., group, individual) on caregiver coaching competency in a hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial of Project ImPACT in an urban early intervention system. Taken together, these talks illustrate a careful, community-partnered approach to providing excellent clinical care to a population of autistic children who are multiply marginalized by ableism, racism, classism, and other oppressive systems.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify at least 2 community-engaged methods to adapt behavioral interventions for minoritized autistic children and their families.
  2. Describe at least 3 methods for soliciting community input to design resources to promote cultural humility and neurodiversity-affirming care.
  3. Describe at least 5 recommended adaptations for behavioral interventions for minoritized autistic children.
  4. Identify inner- and outer-setting factors to consider when tailoring implementation support for providers in under-resourced settings.

Presentations:

  • 5:05 PM - 5:22 PM CST
    (SYM 22) Using Community Engagement to Adapt Anxiety Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Minoritized Autistic Youth Receiving Services in Community-based Settings

    Speaker: Jessica Tschida, M.A. (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

    Co-author: Jyothika Kalatturu (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Aria Kingstrom (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Izza Peeran, B.A. (she/her/hers) – Henry Ford Health

    Co-author: Amy Drahota, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

  • 5:22 PM - 5:39 PM CST
    (SYM 22) Characterizing Intervention Delivery and Outcomes Within Community Settings Serving Underrepresented Autistic Toddlers and Their Families

    Speaker: Katherine Pickard, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Emory University School of Medicine

    Co-author: Lawrence Scahill, PhD – Emory University School of Medicine

    Co-author: Aubyn Stahmer, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of California, Davis

  • 5:39 PM - 5:56 PM CST
    (SYM 22) A Mixed Methods Examination of Clinician Resource Needs and Predictors of Adaptation for Minoritized Families in Community Settings

    Speaker: Anamiguel Pomales Ramos, MA (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Isabella Barbore, BA (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Brooke Ingersoll, Ph.D., BCBA-D – Michigan State University

  • 5:56 PM - 6:13 PM CST
    (SYM 22) The Use of Telehealth in Community-based Early Intervention: Insights into the Digital Divide, Parent Coaching Practices, and Parent Engagement

    Speaker: Hannah Tokish, M.A. (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Anamiguel Pomales Ramos, MA (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Jessie Greatorex, B.A. – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Isabelle Saligumba, BA (she/her/hers) – Michigan State University

    Co-author: Brooke Ingersoll, Ph.D., BCBA-D – Michigan State University

  • 6:13 PM - 6:30 PM CST
    (SYM 22) Tailored Implementation Support to Improve Caregiver Coaching for Minoritized Autistic Children in an Urban Early Intervention System

    Speaker: Diondra Straiton, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

    Co-author: Samantha Crabbe, MSEd – University of Pennsylvania

    Co-author: David S. Mandell, Other (he/him/his) – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

    Co-author: Melanie Pellecchia, Ph.D. – University of Pennsylvania