Tests ways to boost motivation for daily living skills in autistic youth
Tests motivation treatments to help autistic teens and young adults complete daily living skills.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Motivation for Daily Living Skills
Key facts
- Where
- Philadelphia, United StatesSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 16 and 25 years old?
Source: NCT07159308, who can take part
Where in United States
- CHOP Center for Advanced Behavioral HealthcarePhiladelphia, United StatesTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Trial code
- NCT07159308
- Record updated
- 14 October 2026
- Original description
The goal of this clinical trial is to enhance motivation to complete daily living skills among 16 to 25-year-old autistic teens and young adults. Here are the main questions the trial aims to answer:Read full original descriptionShow less
Enhancing Motivation to Complete Daily Living Skills Among Transition-aged Autistic Youth
The goal of this clinical trial is to enhance motivation to complete daily living skills among 16 to 25-year-old autistic teens and young adults. Here are the main questions the trial aims to answer:
Can this trial improve motivation to complete daily living skills for skills that people know how to do but struggle to do them consistently?
Can this trial improve completion of the daily living skill that the participant identifies they want to do more often?
Do people report feeling more empowered to complete the daily living skill they want to do more often?
Are there any characteristics of a person that make them more or less likely to benefit from the treatment?
Researchers will compare treatments that target different types of motivation:
* One treatment focuses on internal motivation and explores what is important to someone and then connect that value back to their daily living skill goal. * A second treatment focuses on external motivation and will explore a person finding outside sources of motivation, like rewards. * A third treatment will use a combination of both methods.
Autistic teens and young adults enrolled in this study will also be asked to choose someone in their life to be involved in the study with them. This person is called an "Important Person" (IP) and can be anyone close to them, like a family member, friend, roommate, partner, etc. The IP will be expected to support the teen/young adult throughout this treatment.
Participants and their IPs will:
* Complete five 'talk' therapy sessions that will last 60 to 90 minutes. The IPs will join the last 15 minutes of each session. * Be assigned to one of the three motivation treatments. * Fill out questionnaires before the first session, after sessions 2 through 5, and up to 4 weeks after therapy ends.
Inclusion: Age 16-25 years; Participants reporting an autism diagnosis or Social Communication Disorder diagnosis from a qualified provider (Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Developmental Pediatrician, Neurologist). When possible, diagnosis will be confirmed through the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Electronic Health Record (EHR); Must identify an important person who is able to communicate by understanding and speaking full sentences in English; Ability to communicate by understanding and using full sentences in English; Informed Consent; Be willing to have sessions audio- and video-recorded; Age 18 years or older; Must attend at least 15 minutes of each treatment session; Ability to communicate by understanding and using full sentences in English; Informed consent; Be willing to have sessions audio- and video-recorded.
Exclusion: Changes to mental health treatment plan that could alter response to study intervention in the opinion of the Investigator (ex. starting or ending therapy that could influence the daily living skill goal); Participation in a prior trial of our intrinsic motivation condition; Current, comorbid psychiatric disorder with sufficiently intense symptoms in the opinion of the Investigator that these symptoms may confound treatment; Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability; Participant is currently considered a suicide risk in the opinion of the Investigator or is currently demonstrating active suicidal or homicidal ideation or self-injurious behavior; Is not willing to support the autistic teen/young adult with their daily living skill goal.