# Adapting an ASD Executive Functioning Intervention for Implementation in Children's Mental Health Services

> **NIH NIH K23** · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $169,734

## Abstract

Project Summary. The purpose of this revised K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
Development Award is to facilitate the applicant acquiring the skills needed for an independent career in
services and implementation research specific to mental health care for youth with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD). Children with ASD are a rapidly expanding population with immense and complex service needs
estimated to cost $236 billion annually in the U.S (CDC, 2014). Rates of psychiatric comorbidity are as high as
70% among this population and evidence suggests a significant role of executive functioning (EF) underlying
both ASD and various mental health conditions. Given this, mental health services represent a critical source
of health care for youth with ASD. However, children with ASD have significant unmet mental health needs.
Despite services efforts to develop evidence-based mental health interventions for these youth, there are
significant implementation deficits in community mental health settings. This is in part due to limited
incorporation of factors key to the optimal “fit” and coverage in the development of these interventions. Many of
these interventions are disorder specific, which do not target potent, cross-diagnostic mechanisms such as EF,
thereby reducing their fit and effectiveness in addressing the range of mental health needs for these youth. To
address this critical area of need, this proposal aims to systematically adapt an ASD EF intervention for
implementation in mental health services. Under the mentorship of Drs. Lauren Brookman-Frazee, Ph.D.
(primary mentor and sponsor) and Gregory Aarons, Ph.D. (co-mentor) and mentors and consultants with
expertise in implementation and services research, the applicant will obtain training in: 1) implementation
science for application to the mental health services context; 2) interventions for youth with ASD specific to EF;
and 3) implementation science methodological approaches. These training goals will be executed through the
following project aims: 1) conduct a needs and context assessment to inform the systematic adaptation of an
ASD EF intervention (Unstuck and on Target [UOT]; Cannon, Kenworthy, Alexander & Werner, 2011) for
implementation in child mental health services; 2) systematically adapt UOT and develop a corresponding
implementation plan, together entitled “Executive Functioning for Enhancing Community-based Treatment for
ASD,” or EFFECT for ASD; and 3) conduct a feasibility pilot test of EFFECT for ASD in community mental
health settings. This proposal strongly aligns with the NIMH Strategic plan to “develop ways to tailor existing
interventions to optimize outcomes” (Objective 3.2) and to “improve the efficiency and effectiveness of mental
health services” (Objective 4.1) and has the potential to address the urgent need to improve mental health
services for children with ASD. The strong training plans yoked with research activities will effectively support
this applica...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241256
- **Project number:** 5K23MH115100-04
- **Recipient organization:** SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelsey S Dickson
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $169,734
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-11 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241256

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241256, Adapting an ASD Executive Functioning Intervention for Implementation in Children's Mental Health Services (5K23MH115100-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241256. Licensed CC0.

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