Iterative Redesign of a Multifaceted Implementation Strategy for a School-based Behavioral Skills Intervention (RUBI)

Last updated: March 25, 2025
Sponsor: University of Washington
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Asperger's Disorder

Williams Syndrome

Treatment

RUBI in Educational Settings (RUBIES)-Team

Unadapted Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) implementation strategy

Clinical Study ID

NCT06508515
STUDY00017261
2P50MH115837-05
  • Ages > 5
  • All Genders

Study Summary

The increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (1 in 36 youth) in the United States along with the exorbitant cost of care of supporting one autistic individual with and without intellectual disability across their lifespan ($2.4 and $1.4 million, respectively) creates a sense of urgency to improve outcomes for autistic youth. Schools are the primary setting in which autistic children receive intervention. Despite a growing array of evidence-based interventions (EBI) such as behavioral management, EBIs often are unavailable in schools due to misalignment of existing implementation strategies (IS) with that setting. Large numbers of IS have been described for the education sector, but there is a dire need to identify the most efficient IS to support use of EBI in resource-strapped public schools. This project will apply the local Discover, Design/Build and Test (DDBT) framework to redesign and pilot a multifaceted IS to support educator use of a behavioral skills EBI for autistic children in public schools.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Elementary School Personnel. Elementary school personnel must be 18+ and employed bythe school district and work directly with autistic students at their school.Elementary school personnel with varying levels of experience and trainingbackgrounds will be included. Participants will not be excluded given their genderidentity, age, demographics, racial/ethnic background, or past experience.

  • Autistic Children who work with a Elementary School Personnel. To participate,autistic students must be between the ages of 5-12 from a participating publicelementary school who: (1) have school documentation of an autism classificationwhich will be confirmed through caregiver provision of documentation of a confirmedASD diagnosis and a score that is above the mean on either the Emotion DysregulationInventory or the Sutter Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory; (2) be enrolled in aKindergarten-5th grade general or special education classroom and participate in aninclusive classroom setting for a minimum of 10% of their weekly hours (4hours/week); (3) have a participating educator enrolled that meets the inclusioncriteria for Elementary School Personnel

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Students will be excluded from this study if they are not planning to stay in theschool or the classroom for the duration of the study. Participants will not beexcluded given their gender identity, demographics, racial/ethnic background, or ASDsymptomology or behavior.

  • Elementary School Personnel will be excluded if they are not working with anautistic student who meets the inclusion criteria.

Study Design

Total Participants: 160
Treatment Group(s): 2
Primary Treatment: RUBI in Educational Settings (RUBIES)-Team
Phase:
Study Start date:
August 27, 2024
Estimated Completion Date:
March 31, 2026

Study Description

Specifically, this study will test the effects of the newly redesigned Research Units in Behavioral Intervention in Educational Settings (RUBIES) Implementation Strategy in comparison with the unadapted Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) Implementation Strategy on DDBT mechanisms (engagement, usability, appropriateness), proximal implementation outcomes (adoption, fidelity, adaptation, reach) and child outcomes (disruptive behavior, functioning, top problems). Compared with the un-adapted RUBI IS, the newly designed implementation strategy RUBIES-Team will lead to:

H3-1: greater RUBIES usability, engagement, and appropriateness; H3-2: greater RUBIES adoption, fidelity, and reach, with fewer reactive adaptations to the RUBIES IS; H3-3: noninferiority on student disruptive behavior in autistic children; and H3-4: more students with improved behavioral outcomes than deterioration or unchanged outcomes across conditions.

Connect with a study center

  • University of Washington

    Seattle, Washington 98195
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

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