# Alternative Approaches to Supporting ASD Services for Young Adults

> **NIH NIH R01** · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $477,660

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
The proposed study requests funding to conduct a detailed comparison of eligibility for healthcare coverage
and healthcare service use in the Medicaid system among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
as they age into adulthood. Given the recent increased number of adolescents diagnosed with ASD, the
lifelong presentation of ASD, and the under-researched changes in the needs of adolescents with ASD as they
age, examining healthcare access and service use among adolescents with ASD as they transition into
adulthood is critical to developing an efficient and effective system of care. Most states have mechanisms to
utilize Medicaid to pay for healthcare for a similar group (adolescents with intellectual disability, or ID) as they
age into adulthood but it remains unclear if or how these mechanisms also support aging adolescents with
ASD. We propose to use 2006-2014 national Medicaid claims data to identify individuals with ASD between 14
and 18 years of age in 2006 who were followed until they were 22 to 26 years of age in 2014. Specifically, we
will compare Medicaid eligibility among adolescents with ASD, including the extent to which they remain
eligible for Medicaid-funded services into adulthood compared with adolescents with ID. Differences across
states with ASD-specific programs, those that serve individuals with ASD through programs established for ID,
and states with no programs will be compared. Many states created new programs during the study period,
which will be catalogued to measure impact on adolescents with ASD aging into adulthood. We will also
examine differences across states in changes in type and quantity of ambulatory, inpatient and residential
services among Medicaid-eligible adolescents with ASD and adolescents with ID as they age into adulthood.
Interviews with administrators and advocates in states with the most and least discrepant differences in
enrollment and service use for adolescents with ASD and ID will also be conducted. Completion of this study
will provide a foundation for how differing state approaches to establishing Medicaid programs impact
adolescents with ASD during the transition into adulthood.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10225311
- **Project number:** 5R01MH117653-04
- **Recipient organization:** DREXEL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lindsay Lawer Shea
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $477,660
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10225311

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10225311, Alternative Approaches to Supporting ASD Services for Young Adults (5R01MH117653-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10225311. Licensed CC0.

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