In-Person Mindfulness-based Intervention for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Caregivers

In-Person Mindfulness-based Intervention for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Caregivers

Adolescents with ASD often have co-occurring mental health symptoms like stress, anxiety, and depression. The investigators are conducting this research study to develop interventions for adolescents with ASD that will improve co-occurring mental health symptoms.

Adolescents with ASD and their parents will complete a 3-hour in-person screening visit to determine eligibility for the study.

Adolescents with ASD and their caregivers will participate in an 8-week mindfulness-based group intervention that meets once weekly at SARRC in Phoenix, Arizona. Each meeting will last approximately 2-hours. Teens and parents/caregivers will have separate meetings with separate group leaders but will reunite for approximately 15-minutes as a larger group to review home practice for the upcoming week. Teens and parents will each be given a free 1-year subscription to Ten Percent Happier, a commercially available mobile app focused on mindfulness meditations. Each week teens will be assigned home practice, which means we will ask participants to practice mindfulness meditation every day. The investigators will recommend specific meditations and activities to complete, but participants will have access to all mindfulness meditations on the Ten Percent Happier app.

Teens and caregivers will be asked to complete questionnaires assessing things like mood, anxiety, quality of life, mindfulness in day-to-day life, and their perception of the intervention. These questionnaires will be done immediately before the intervention, immediately after completing the intervention, and at 2-month follow-up.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents must be ages 13 to 18 years
• Formal clinical or educational ASD diagnosis confirmed by the study team (i.e., review of the formal diagnostic or educational report)
• Must be able to attend at least 7 of the 8 in-person group meetings
• English speaking: Adolescents and their parent/caregivers must be English-speaking because the screening and behavioral measures are in English, as well as the intervention content

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-verbal participants will be excluded to ensure test compliance and increase sample homogeneity.
• Participants with IQ scores <70 will be excluded because the intervention was developed for individuals without intellectual disabilities.
• Participants with a physical disability or co-occurring condition that may prevent participation in the weekly group meetings (e.g., selective mutism; aggressive behavior; inability to participate in a 90-minute video conference meeting each week)
• Participants who report active suicidal ideation