Transition for Youth with Autism and/or Epilepsy Demonstration Projects - University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD) Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 3333 Burnet Ave., MLC 4002 Cincinnati, OH 45229 Ilka Riddle, PhD Phone: 302-383-1695 Email: ilka.riddle@cchmc.org www.cincinnatichildrens.org www.ucucedd.org We are requesting program funds of $2,250,000 for the project period. In Ohio, 24.3% of children 0-17 years are children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). Many CYSHCN have unmet healthcare and socioeconomic needs that prevent them from reaching their full potential. The majority of CYSHCN of transition age (12 to 17 years) also lack the services that are necessary to successfully transition to adult healthcare and life in the community. The purpose of the project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a transition framework/model that is based on principles of implementation science, that will increase successful transition from pediatric/child-focused settings to adult healthcare/adult-focused community settings and to adult life, that is sustainable, innovative, and scalable. In addition, a definition of successful transition and its key concepts will be developed, as well as measures that can be used to determine transition success and this project’s impact. Our focus population is youth with autism with complex health and social needs. Our catchment area is the city of Cincinnati in Hamilton County in Ohio. The project’s objectives are 1) a 50% increase of youth with autism who successfully transition to adult settings of care, 2) adoption of a framework/model that fosters collaboration between child-and adult-focused agencies to support successful transition to adult life, and 3) a 75% increase of families/caregivers reporting improved self-efficacy with transition of their youth to adult life. Specific project goals include 1) development, expansion, and maintenance of the infrastructure for this project, 2) development of a definition of “successful transition” and a transition framework/model for youth with autism, 3) adoption and implementation of the framework/model for successful transition, 4) development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation plan to evaluate project impact, and 5) broadly disseminating project findings and resources.
