UNC TEACCH Efficacy of a Community College Transition Program for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, North Carolina, 2019-2021 (ICPSR 39113)
Version Date: Sep 17, 2025 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Laura Klinger, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill;
Brianne Tomaszewski, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill;
Nancy Bagatell, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39113.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The UNC TEACCH project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the TEACCH School Transition to Employment and Postsecondary Education Program (T-STEP) intervention for young adults aged 16 to 21 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) enrolled in community colleges. Over the course of three years, the study has several objectives:
- Conduct a pilot study to refine the T-STEP intervention based on stakeholder feedback, ensuring its suitability and practicality in a community college setting.
- Evaluate the efficacy of the T-STEP intervention in both in-person and online formats, with 45 young adults with ASD receiving the intervention and 45 in a waitlist control group.
- Investigate the characteristics of individuals who benefit most from the program.
- Describe employment and college outcomes three months after program completion.
Expected outcomes of the intervention include improvements in executive function/organization, social communication, emotion regulation, and self-advocacy/self-determination skills. The study also aims to identify which individuals benefit most from the T-STEP intervention and whether there is an increased rate of employment and/or college success at follow-up.
The anticipated deliverables include conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and an intervention manual that is both socially valid and evidence-based, facilitating its broad implementation across community college campuses.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, the data files in this collection are restricted from general dissemination. To obtain these restricted files, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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The components of the T-STEP intervention were provided through an ongoing collaboration with the North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the North Carolina Community College System. The pre- and post- assessments were also provided as part of these clinical services and the data was obtained for use in this study via clinical records review. The global Covid-19 pandemic greatly impacted the study timeline and data collection.
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The following copywritten measures were used for data collection: WASI-II, BRIEF, SRS, and STAI.
- For additional information on the UNC TEACCH Efficacy of a Community College Transition Program for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Study, please visit the TEACCH website.
Sample View help for Sample
Potential subjects were identified through our collaborative relationships with community college campus disability services, regional Vocational Rehabilitation offices, and through local high schools through special education services coordinators and transition fairs.
The T-STEP clinical services were provided through a collaboration with the UNC TEACCH Autism Program, the North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (NCDVRS), and the North Carolina Community College System. Eligible participants were referred from NCDVRS. If a family called the project directly, they were referred to NCDVRS for approval. Participants in the T-STEP clinical services program were asked if their clinical records could be used for research purposes and data was collected from records review.
The T-STEP services coordinator at TEACCH initially informed clients that their community college site was participating in a research study and conducted an screening to confirm that participants meet initial eligibility requirements. The coordinator or a trained research assistant then contacted all potential participants to explain the research protocol.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Autistic individuals between the ages of 16-21, with average or above average cognitive ability.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
The data includes variables about:
- Medication Usage
- Developmental or Health Disorders
- Conditions and Illnesses
- Self-harm
- Coping Self-Efficacy
- Depression
- School Experiences
Demographic variables include age, education, ethnicity, and race.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
For year 1 of the study, 45 participants were referred to the study. Of those 45, 7 withdrew before the start of the intervention and 3 withdrew after the intervention had already began; 26 completed the 3 month follow up.
For year 2 of the study, 62 participants were referred to the study. Of those 62, 5 did not consent to participate, 3 withdrew from the study before the start of the intervention, 6 withdrew after the start of the intervention, 60 completed the 3 month follow up.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
The following measurements are used in this study:
- Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2), Adult Form
- Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence-II (WASI-2)
- Risk Assessment (P4)
- State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
- T-STEP Follow Up Survey
- Medical History Form
- Becker Work Adjustment Profile-2 (BWAP)
- Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES)
- The American Institutes for Research Self-Determination Scale, Student Form (AIR-S)/Parent Form (AIR-P)
- Adjustment to College: Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ)
- Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Adult Version (BRIEF-A)
Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2025-09-17
Version History View help for Version History
2025-09-17 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Created variable labels and/or value labels.
- Created online analysis version with question text.
Notes
These data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.