Transition program for adolescents and young adults with autism in Australia

The TRANSITION program was developed in Sweden specifically for adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The program aimed at improving adult transition outcomes of young people with autism in major life areas of employment, education community participation and quality of life. The TRANSITION program runs for 24 weeks and consists of a combination of group-based workshops covering important adult life domains and a mentor program. During the initial session, TRANSITION participants meet individually with their assigned mentor to discuss their current situation, formulate goals and action plans. Following the initial meeting, the participants will take part in weekly group based workshops, each involving 10 participants and two facilitators. The group workshops will cover seven life domains such as work, education, finances, housing, health, leisure/participation in society and relationships/social networks. Each group will include a presentation on one of two life domains, and group discussions. After the 5-week face-to-face group workshops, participants will meet with their mentor on a weekly basis for four months. Mentoring meetings can be conducted face-to-face, phone call, SMS, or email communication (approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour each meeting). The mentoring sessions will focus on facilitating the participants to work towards their goals and completing their personalised action plans. Mentoring meetings are completed in an individual setting. The mentors and facilitators running the TRANSITION program are required to have clinical expertise in autism, specifically professionals with a background in psychology, occupational therapy, special education, speech pathology or social work. TRANSITION mentors and facilitators will receive training to deliver the group and mentoring components of the TRANSITION program. The training will be conducted by the Swedish developers of the TRANSITION program, approximately 1-2 months prior to the intervention commencement. This training will be a one-off workshop, over 3 days (approximately 7.5 hours each day). TRANSITION mentors and group facilitators are required to complete a Fidelity Scale after each session, to assess program adherence. Ongoing supervision will also be provided.