Autism Doula Program Evaluation

The current project aims to evaluate a community driven, equitable intervention for Black children with autism. Specifically, we will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the Autism Doula program to enhance culturally responsive care and services for Black children newly diagnosed with autism and their families. The Autism Doula intervention will be measured in several ways, including number of families who complete the Autism Doula intervention, Autism Doula sessions successfully completed, content delivered as intended, and the satisfaction of the families involved in the intervention group. Additionally, preliminary effectiveness will be assessed by comparing the intervention group (i.e., families who receive Autism Doula services) to the experiences of families who receive care as usual including DDBP Family Navigation. Specifically, we will examine caregiver perceived stress levels, caregiver self-efficacy, and initiation of recommended next steps/services. We hypothesize that families receiving Autism Doula services will report high satisfaction with the program and that the program will be determined to be feasible and effective. Should results reveal acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of the Autism Doula intervention, additional funding will be sought out in collaboration with the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DDBP) at CCHMC to expand the program. Aligned with the hospital wide initiative of incorporating family navigation into clinical care, DDBP leadership has made it a priority to provide culturally-response family navigation, similar to the Autism Doula program.

Inclusion Criteria: caregivers of children who are 18 months to five years and recently diagnosed with autism. Caregivers must identify as Black and be over the age of 18 and identify their children as Black.