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Symposia

Adult -ADHD

Navigating the Transition to Adulthood: Behavioral Interventions and Contextual Supports for ADHD and Autism Across the Lifespan

2 - (SYM 20) Adapting Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) for ADHD at Emerging Adulthood

Friday, November 21, 2025
5:22 PM - 5:39 PM CST
Location: Celestin F, Level 3
Keywords: ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Adult
Recommended Readings: Canu, W., Knouse, L. E., Flory, K., & Hartung, C. M. (2023). Thriving in college with ADHD: A cognitive-behavioral skills manual for therapists. Routledge.,   Bui, H. N., Marsh, N. P., & Chronis-Tuscano, A. (2024). Perspectives on parental support of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder self-management at the transition to adulthood. Nature Mental Health, 2(5), 489-495. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00234-0,   Clarke, E., Singer, H., Schiltz, H., & Lord, C. (2024). Autism at 30: Conceptualizations for adult research and clinical practice. American Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001452,   Dudley, K. M., Klinger, M. R., Meyer, A., Powell, P., & Klinger, L. G. (2019). Understanding service usage and needs for adults with ASD: The importance of living situation. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 49, 556-568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3729-0,   Raymaker, D. M., Sharer, M., Maslak, J., Powers, L. E., McDonald, K. E., Kapp, S. K., Moura, I., Wallington, A. “Furra”, & Nicolaidis, C. (2022). “[I] don’t wanna just be like a cog in the machine”: Narratives of autism and skilled employment. Autism, 27(1), 65-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221080813
Abstract Body

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder and requires specific attention to mental health treatment disengagement (e.g., discontinuation, resistance to entry) at emerging adulthood (EA; 18-25 years) due to the steep reduction of parental and institutional supports. Left untreated at this transition, EA with ADHD are at risk for anxiety, depression, substance use, poor educational/vocational attainment, and suicide. Parents are well-poised to facilitate treatment engagement given their extensive historical knowledge and involvement throughout childhood. Furthermore, parents often incur financial, emotional, and time costs of disengagement and may be especially motivated or desperate to get their EA connected to care. There is a need to equip parents to effectively engage their EA with ADHD in mental health treatment during this critical transition period. Crucially, parents must balance support and development of their autonomy in a manner that does not further increase disengagement. Currently, no existing treatments directly target disengagement for EA with ADHD. This presentation describes:

1. A conceptual model of parental factors impacting mental health service engagement for EA with ADHD

2. An ongoing protocol for a qualitative study to adapt an existing intervention to increase engagement with mental health treatment

The Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) approach is an evidence-based behavioral treatment that works directly with family members of individuals with substance use disorders to engage in treatment. Based on core components of effective communication, environmental restructuring, and family members’ own mental health, CRAFT has clear relevance for addressing ADHD-related motivational and executive functioning difficulties exacerbated by increased environmental demands for EA. Involving primary users (parents, providers) and secondary users (EA) through human-centered design at the onset of CRAFT adaption increases the potential for this intervention to be implemented and sustained in the future. Discussion of preliminary results will be presented that include:

• Iterative adaptation of CRAFT to increase relevance to parents of disengaged EA with ADHD (CRAFT-ADHD) using focus groups/qualitative interviews with parents (n=25), mental health providers (n=15), and EA (n=10).

• Usability testing of telehealth CRAFT-ADHD for parents (n=2) to assess feasibility and acceptability.