BHI-RUCARES Autism Faculty Candidate: Melanie Pellecchia

High-quality early intervention services are critical for improving long-term outcomes for children on the autism spectrum. Yet, implementation science research repeatedly demonstrates poor implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) within community-based early intervention. This research-to-practice gap is especially evident in large under-resourced service systems. Given the established benefit of early intervention on children’s later outcomes, there is an urgent need to partner with community-based early intervention systems to improve the wide-scale implementation of EBPs in these settings. This presentation will provide an overview of a body of research conducted in partnership with Philadelphia’s early intervention system to improve the system-wide implementation of one specific EBP, caregiver coaching, as an example of an effective community-academic partnership focused on improving outcomes for young children on the autism spectrum. Findings from an in-depth evaluation of current practices in usual care for children on the autism spectrum who receive early intervention, a qualitative inquiry into barriers and facilitators to implementing caregiver coaching, and the results of a large quantitative survey evaluating the association between organizational culture and climate and providers’ intentions to implement caregiver coaching will be presented. Discussion will center on the iterative development of a toolkit of implementation strategies, designed in partnership with community stakeholders, to improve early intervention providers’ fidelity to caregiver coaching with families of young children on the autism spectrum.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/94337318307?pwd=bU9JOUE2VlprQUtKNHN4NGo1aFNIQT09

Meeting ID: 943 3731 8307

Password: 103023