A Crisis Prevention Program for Youth With Autism

Mental health crises involve acute psychiatric states, such as aggression and/or self-injury, which can result in harm to self or others. There is evidence to suggest that 20% to 25% of autistic children are at risk of a mental health crises, however no crisis prevention programs exist for autistic children. The goal of this project is to evaluate, via a randomized design, a novel crisis prevention program.

Inclusion Criteria:Have a child with autismThe child must be 3-17 years of ageCaregivers must score <=13 on the Crisis Prevention Index (CPI)The child must have some behavioral concerns (e.g., aggression, property destruction, elopement, tantrums), as listed on section 2 of the MCAS-R.The child must have an MCAS-R Acuity score of at most 19The child must be actively seen by a medical or mental health professional within the last six monthsExclusion Criteria:The child has any suicidal thoughts or behaviorsThe child is enrolled in another treatment studyThe child is enrolled in the RUBI parent training program, offered at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy KriegerCaregivers has a hearing or language impairmentCaregiver does not have consistent access to the internet