Efficacy of an Online Caregiver Learning Series for Promoting Daily Living Skills of Autistic Adolescents

Daily living skills (DLS) are one key predictor of autistic adults attending post-secondary education, obtaining employment, and living independently. However, these skills often lag behind typical development for autistic people regardless of their cognitive abilities. Autistic adolescents and their caregivers have indicated a desire for more DLS supports. While there are evidence-based practices (EBPs) to teach DLS, autistic adolescents without intellectual disabilities are unlikely to receive DLS instruction in their general education coursework, and caregivers report lacking resources and strategies to teach these skills at home. To address these concerns, we developed an eLearning module series to support caregivers of autistic adolescents without intellectual disabilities in promoting DLS at home. The current single case design study measured the impact of the modules on caregiver fidelity to the EBPs and adolescent independence with self-selected DLS. The study also assessed the social validity of the modules. The results of this study reveal functional relationships between the module series and caregiver fidelity to the EBPs and to adolescent independence with targeted DLS. The caregivers and the adolescents both rated the acceptability, feasibility, and significance of the intervention favorably. These results indicate that the novel eLearning series is a successful and practical way to support autistic adolescents and their families to target and enhance DLS at home.