Service Utilization and Outcomes Among Youth with Autism

Principal Investigator: Paul Shattuck, PhD
Funder:  National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Timeframe: 12/07-02/09
Affiliation: Center of Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR)

Project Staff:  Melissa Hensley, MSW, Investigator

Project Contact:   Paul Shattuck

                              Phone: (314) 935-7570

                              Email: pshattuck@wustl.edu

                           
Project Update as of 06/25/2008:

Description:

The core impairments of people with autism are pervasive, complex, and affect multiple domains of health, mental health, and development.  Comorbidity rates of mental and physical health problems are also very high.  Consequently, youth with autism need services from a variety of providers and service systems.  Upon finishing high school, youth with autism no longer have access to a federal entitlement for services.  Despite the significance of this transition, little is known about how  youth with autism in the U.S. fare in early adulthood with respect to health, mental health, and related outcomes.  The overall research goal is to establish a base of evidence necessary for developing and testing transition support interventions by pursuing the following aims:

 

1)      To characterize the service utilization patterns of youth with autism who are enrolled in special education.

2)      To identify resources that facilitate, and barriers that impede, access to transition services and cross-system coordination of care while youth are still in high school

3)      To identify pathways into adult service systems

4)      To examine the relationship between service access and early functional outcomes in young adulthood.