Assessing patient progress and caregiver strain: Insights from the Coordinated Care project

Abstract

This project focused on evaluating behavioral and caregiver-related outcomes for children and adolescents with autism who received services through the HANDS in Autism® Coordinated Care model. Multiple standardized measures were analyzed, including the Clinical Global Impressions scales (CGI-S and CGI-I), Home Situation Questionnaire (HSQ), School Situation Questionnaire (SSQ), Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CSQ), and Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Second Edition (ABC2). While HSQ, SSQ, and ABC2 scores showed a clear reduction in severity post-discharge, indicating behavioral improvement at home and in school settings, CSQ scores reflected only slight reductions in caregiver strain. The analysis of CGI data for two individual cases revealed minimal change in illness severity and slight improvements in functional outcomes. Limitations included decreasing client participation in follow-up phases, which affects data consistency and generalizability. Recommendations include domain-specific analysis, investigating contributing family factors, and conducting correlational studies to inform personalized intervention strategies.