Journal Article

A Combined Interventional Approach to Train Interview Skills in Autistic Transition-Age Youth

Krch, Denise, Dacanay, Michael, Parrott, Devan, Smith, Matthew J., Genova, Helen M., Elsayed, Heba E., Haas, Mikayla

2025

Overview

Background The job interview can be challenging for autistic adolescents considering the required social communication skills. Further, having decreased awareness of personal strengths may make it difficult to advocate for oneself to a future employer. The purpose of the current pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to examine the preliminary efficacy and feasibility of a combined interventional approach using: the Virtual Interview Tool for Autistic Transition-Age Youth (VIT-TAY) and Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression (KF-STRIDE). Method Twenty autistic transition-age youth (TAY) were randomly assigned to two groups: an intervention group ( n = 10) that received 9 h of VIT-TAY (interviewing practice with a virtual human), and three lessons of KF-STRIDE (positive psychology intervention to learn and discuss one’s personal character strengths) and a services-as-usual (SAU) group ( n = 10). The primary outcome was measured using a video-recorded mock job interview performed at pre- and post-test, which was rated by blinded assessors. Secondary outcomes included self-reports of job interview skill, interview anxiety, work readiness and recent job search behavior. Results Paired samples t-tests revealed significant differences between pre- and post-test in the intervention group (but not the control group) on the mock interview total score ( p = 0.02, d = 0.76) and self-reported job interview skills total score ( p = 0.02, d = 0.75). The intervention group (but not the control group) had improvements in work-readiness ( p = 0.06, d = 0.53) and job search behavior ( p = 0.07, d = 0.52) that were characterized by medium effect sizes. Conclusions This pilot study suggests that combining VIT-TAY with KF-STRIDE leads to improvements in performance-based and self-reported job interview skills.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Adolescent / Adolescents / Age / Anxiety / Assessors / Autism / Autistic adolescents / Autistic Disorder - psychology / Behavioral Science and Psychology / Business communication / Career Readiness / Child and School Psychology / Clinical trials / Communication / Communication skills / Control Groups / Efficacy / Employers / Employment interviews / Exploratory behavior / Feasibility / Female / Humans / Intervention / Interviews / Interviews as Topic - methods / Job Application / Job hunting / Male / Neurosciences / Original Article / Pediatrics / Pilot Projects / Positive psychology / Primary groups / Psychology / Public Health / Skills / Social skills / Tests / Work / Work skills / Youth