Panel Discussion 13 - Don’t Go at It Alone: How Researchers Can Engage Provider, Caregiver, and Autistic Partners to Enhance the Delivery of Inclusive Mental Health and Life Skills Services for Autistic People Across Settings

Improving access to mental health and life skills services could make a significant difference in autistic people’s independence, wellbeing, and overall quality of life. However, the process to implement and sustain these services in health and educational systems is complex. Thoughtfully engaging administrators, providers, caregivers, and autistic partners is essential to unpack the many factors that affect how well mental health and life skills services are delivered in community settings, and to continually create and refine more inclusive implementation practices. Panelists across geographic locations will discuss ongoing research collaborations between autistic, caregiver, community, and/or educational partners in implementation trials of services for autistic people in schools and community health settings. Our initial discussion will focus on how partner collaboration and early mixed methods data informed the implementation design of a large school trial comparing two CBT programs for autistic students, as well as a cognitive behavioral executive functioning intervention for autistic youth in community mental health settings. Next, we will discuss the role of school partners, caregivers, autistic adults, and autistic youth advisory boards in overcoming implementation “stuck points” in schools. The panel will also highlight ways in which community clinicians can meaningfully weigh in on barriers to using CBT and MBT to treat anxiety and depression in autistic adults, and ways in which clinician and caregiver feedback has been used to inform the real-world implementation of the Surviving and Thriving in the Real World (STRW) intervention for autistic adolescents. Further discussion will address establishing and sustaining community partners as a trainee or early career professional engaged in implementation and dissemination science. Overall, this panel includes discussion of critical strategies to engage diverse research partners in implementation efforts, and how diverse types of engagement can be used to increase the successful delivery of more inclusive mental health and life skills services in schools, community mental health, and outpatient settings serving autistic people from childhood through adulthood.