Many autistic adults demonstrate a gap between their intellectual functioning and their daily living skills (DLS), regardless of their cognitive ability. DLS are a significant predictor of quality of life, employment, and independent living for autistic individuals. Autistic adolescents and young adults (youth) identify mastering DLS as an essential piece of reaching desired levels of independence. Autistic individuals also note that difficulties with DLS can be a combination of skill knowledge (i.e., not knowing how to complete a skill) and skill consistency (i.e., knowing how to complete a skill, but lacking motivation to do it consistently when needed). Currently, there are no interventions designed to target DLS consistency among autistic youth. We developed and assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, community-engaged behavioral intervention that uses principles of Motivational Interviewing to increase autistic youth’s motivation to complete DLS. Our results suggest that our intervention is feasible and acceptable to autistic youth. The results of this study will be used to conduct a preliminary efficacy randomized control trial.
