Plain Language Summaries of Key Publications
Unstuck & On Target: Elementary School
Unstuck & On Target Logo
What is this article about? Unstuck & On Target (also known as UOT) is an executive function intervention for autistic and other neurodivergent children that helps with flexibility, goal-setting, and planning. It was developed with a team of educators, advocates and clinicians. Unstuck & On Target can be taught in public schools. This allows for more children to have access to the program.
What did the authors do? To find out how well Unstuck & On Target works compared to a social skills program, elementary students were taught one of these programs in small group sessions.
What did the authors find? Students in both programs improved, but students who got Unstuck & On Target had more improvements in problem-solving, flexibility, and planning/organizing. Students who got Unstuck & On Target improved more than social skills participants in their ability to follow rules, make transitions, and be flexible. Children in both groups had similar improvements in social skills.
How will this help autistic people now or in the future? This paper shows that Unstuck & On Target: Elementary School helps kids develop better executive function and helps schools learn how to support kids.
What did the authors do next? They focused on developing Unstuck & On Target for preschool, middle school, and high school as well.
For more information, please visit the Unstuck & On Target website.
Full Citation
Kenworthy, L., Anthony, L. G., Naiman, D. Q., Cannon, L., Wills, M. C., Luong‐Tran, C., Werner, M. A., Alexander, K.C., Strang, J., Bal, E., Sokoloff, J. L., & Wallace, G. L. (2014). Randomized controlled effectiveness trial of executive function intervention for children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(4), 374-383.
Centering the inner experience of autism: Creating the Self-Assessment of Autistic Traits (The SAAT)
Autism Gold Infinity Sign
What is the purpose of this article? This article is about making the first comprehensive self-report measure of autistic traits written by autistic people to help find people who are missed by the current autism assessment tools. This tool was developed with two autistic people as the lead of the research team. It was also developed with a panel of autistic experts, including both autistic scientists and community leaders.
What did the authors do? The authors started by reading what autistic people had to say about their experience of being autistic. Then they used those ideas to write questions for a questionnaire about autistic traits. Finally, they asked autistic experts to review the questionnaire and made changes based on what they said.
What did they produce? They produced the SAAT. The SAAT is a self-report questionnaire that is accessible, supportive and positive of autistic experiences, and includes the inner experience of autism.
How will this help autistic adults now or in the future? The long-term goal is to create a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire that people 16 years old and older can complete to measure their autistic traits. The SAAT could be important for better understanding the inner autistic experience of autism. The SAAT could also improve how we assess adults for autism and how we research autism.
For a full plain language version of the paper, see our Open Science Framework Page.
Full Citation:
Ratto, A. B., Bascom, J., daVanport, S., Strang, J. F., Anthony, L. G., Verbalis, A., Pugliese, C., Nadwodny, N., Brown, L. X. Z., Cruz, M., Hector, B. L., Kapp, S. K., Onaiwu, M. G., Raymaker, D. M., Robison, J. E., Stewart, C., Stone, R., Whetsell, E., Pelphrey, K., & Kenworthy, L. (2023). Centering the Inner Experience of Autism: Development of the Self-Assessment of Autistic Traits. Autism in Adulthood, 5(1), 93-105.
Everyday executive function
Picture of a Brain
What is this article about? This study is about executive function and how it is measured in autistic people. This paper discusses reasons it is hard to have accurate measures of executive function.
What did the authors find? The authors found that it is hard to measure executive control because:
Human brains take a long time to finish developing, so measuring executive function in little kids with autism might not show every brain difference.
People don’t agree on what executive function means and if it’s one thing or many things, so people measure different things and call it executive control.
Executive function involves lots of mental processes, so it is hard to measure the different pieces of executive control without measuring other things too.
Research and clinical settings are really different than everyday life, so it is hard to measure someone’s everyday executive function in a lab or clinic.
This authors also found that measures that are similar to what someone needs to do in everyday life are better at measuring executive function than measures that are not similar to what someone needs to do in everyday life.
How will this help autistic adults now or in the future? Looking at a lot of different measures may also give more information about a person with autism’s executive function than looking at just one measure. This could help researchers or clinicians better measure executive function in autistic people. This study could help researchers and clinicians understand why we need different ways to measure executive function.
Full Citation:
Kenworthy, L., Yerys, B. E., Anthony, L. G., & Wallace, G. L. (2008). Understanding executive control in autism spectrum disorders in the lab and in the real world. Neuropsychology review, 18(4), 320–338.
Psychometric Investigation of Preliminary Item-Set for the Self-Assessment of Autistic Traits
Post Doctoral Fellows, Research Coordinator, and Volunteer Publications
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Bertollo, J. R., Baczewski, L., Behar, H., Black, E. R., Anderson, T., Sharp, K., Lopez, A., Neuman, C., Verbalis, A., Pugliese, C., & Kenworthy, L. (2026). Self-and parent-reported executive function and self-determination in autistic teens: domain-specific relationships and cross-rater considerations. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
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Sharp, K.E., Baczewski, L., Bertollo, J.R., Neuman, C.C., Lopez, A., Carel, E., Verbalis, A., Pugliese, C.E., and Kenworthy, L. (2026). It’s part of me: autistic adolescents thoughts and feelings towards their autistic identity/autism diagnosis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17, 1767141.
Poster Presentations
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Anderson, T., Gerber, A., Ratto, A., Leikin, S., & Coulter, K. (2026, August 6-8). Trauma-related symptoms in autistic youth with and without PTSD. [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association 2026 Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
Anderson, T., Gerber, A., Black, E., Nahmias, A., Schleider, J., & Lerner, M. (2026, April 22-25). Who benefits most from a growth mindset single-session intervention? Moderation effects among autistic youth. [Poster presentation]. International Society for Autism Research 2026 Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic.
Anderson, T., Ratto, A., Leikin, S., & Coulter, K. (2026, April 14). Trauma symptom expression across neurodevelopmental profiles in youth with PTSD [Exhibition]. Children’s National Research and Innovation Week.
Bertollo, J.R., Troxel, M., Safer-Lichtenstein, J., Nguyen, L., Dahlman, T., Holmes, J., Verbalis, A., Smith, J.V., Werner, M. A., Alexander, K. C., Cannon, L., Whiteford, J., Gunn, M., Decker, K., Kenworthy, L., & Anthony, L. (2026, April 22-25). Disseminating Unstuck and On Target into Schools: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Elementary Educators’ Feedback on Dissemination Strategies, Reach, and Impacts on Adoption [Poster Presentation]. International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic.
Black, E.R., Gerber, A., Bertollo, J. R., McQuaid, G. A., Benecke, R. M., Blyakher, N., Ki, D., Kaplan-Kahn, E. A., Cola, M., Escobar, E.E., Garagozzo, A., Verbalis, A., Ratto, A., Todd, A., Anderson, T., Yerys, B.E., Kenworthy, L., & Wallace, G. L. (2026, August 6-8). Understanding autistic burnout and loneliness in transition-aged autistic youth [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association 2026 Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
Black, E. R., Bertollo, J. R., Gerber, A., McQuaid, G. A., Berke, E., Kaplan-Kahn, E.A., Cola, M., Ki, D., Gomez, E.E., Garagozza, A., Benecke, R. M., Verbalis, A., Ratto, A. B., Todd, A., Anderson, T., Yerys, B.E, Kenworthy, L., & Wallace, G.L. (2026, April 22-25). Characterizing autistic burnout and links to executive functioning in autistic adolescents [Poster presentation]. International Society for Autism Research 2026 Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic.
Black, E.R., Candy, C.G., Lerner, M.D., Nelson, B.D., and Gerber, A.H. (2026, April 22-25). Social and nonsocial reward responsivity and its association with self-report in autistic young adults [Poster presentation]. International Society for Autism Research 2026 Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic.
Harris, S., Parwani, S.A., Tener, A., Hindenach, A., Herin, M.G., Knauss, M., Clawson, A., Hong, Y., Michaelson, J., Yang, J.S., Strang, J.F. (2026, August 19-20). The Intersection of Asexuality, LGB+ Identity, and Self-Reported Internalizing Symptoms in Autistic Adults [Poster presentation]. Northwestern University National LGBTQ Health Conference, Chicago, IL, United States.
Hindenach, A., Parwani, S.A., Rudd, S., Basch, M., Strang, J.F. (2026, August 6). Trajectories of Transgender Youth Academic Achievement in the United States [Poster Presentation]. American Psychological Association 2026, Washington, D.C.
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Bertollo, J.R., Baczewski, L., Sharp, K., Gerber, A.H., Behar, H., Candy, C., Neuman, C.C., Puckett, H., Lopez, A., Verbalis, A., Pugliese, C.E., & Kenworthy, L. (2025, April 7-10). Executive function and quality of life: The mediating role of self-determination. 57th Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA.
Candy, C., Bertollo, J.R., Behar, H., Lopez, A., Verbalis, A., Pugliese, C., & Kenworthy, L.(2025, April 30- May 3). Executive Function Challenges: Associations with Social Communication in Autistic Teens [Poster Presentation]. International Society of Autism Research (INSAR) 2025 Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington.
Candy, C., Kang, E., Clements, C.C., Lerner, M.D., Nelson, B.D., & Gerber, A.H. (2025, March 31- April 4). The relationship between ADHD symptom severity and neural response to reward in autistic young adults [Exhibition]. Children’s National Research and Innovation Week.
Candy, C., Lerner, M.D., Nelson, B.D., & Gerber, A.H. (2025, November 20-23). Capturing Loneliness in Real-Time: Differences in Momentary Loneliness Between Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 2025 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA. November 22).
Hindenach, A., Parkin, C.S., Parwani, S.A., Todd, D.A., Feng, J., van Mieringen, I.M., Kooke, A.S., Burgwal, A., van der Miesen, A.I.R., Strang, J.F. (2025, November 22). Mental Health Mediates the Relationship between Transgender Youth Affirmation at School and Academic Outcomes [Poster Presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 2025, New Orleans, LA.
Todd, A., Parwani, S., Parkin, C.S., Wallace, G.L., Michaelson, J., Jack, A., McQuaid, G., Fischbach, A., & Strang, J.F. (2025, April 30- May 3). Preliminary Study of Differences in Ethnoracial Distributions across Autism and Gender Diversity [Poster Presentation]. International Society of Autism Research (INSAR) 2025 Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington.
Sharp, K., Neuman, C.C., Bertollo, J.R., Carel, E., Taylor, M., Lopez, A., Verbalis, A., Kenworthy, L., & Baczewski, L. (2025, April 30-May 3). “It’s part of me”: Exploring autistic adolescents thoughts & feelings towards their autistic identities/autism diagnoses. International Society for Autism Research 2025 Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.
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Campos, L., Handsman, R., McKenna, J., Ratto, A., Anthony, L., & Kenworthy, K. (2024, November). Barriers and Facilitators to Implementation of and Early Childhood Executive Function Intervention. [Poster presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Association for Behavior and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
Hindenach, A., Carel, E., Fischbach, A. L., Ruszaj, M., Basch, M., Yang, J. S., van der Miesen, A. I. R., Strang, J. F. (2024, August 8-10). Sociopolitical Factors in the Passage of U.S. Legislation Restricting Transgender Youth Civil Rights [Poster Presentation]. American Psychological Association 2024, Seattle, WA.
Oral Presentations
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Anderson, T., Bertollo, J.R., Black, E.R., ACE Consortium, Kenworthy, L., McQuaid, G., & Wallace, G. (2026, November 12-15). Executive function compensation and its relationship to masking, mental health, and quality of life in autistic individuals [Oral presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 2026 Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Anderson, T., Ratto, A., Leikin, S., & Coulter, K. (2026, November 12-15). Trauma symptom expression in youth with PTSD: the role of co-occurring autism and ADHD diagnoses [Oral presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 2026 Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Black, E. R., Candy, C., Walker, K., Nelson, B., Lerner, M., & Gerber, A. H. (2026, November 12-15). Loneliness mediates the relationship between alexithymia and depression in autistic and non-autistic young adults. [Oral presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 2026 Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Black, E. R., Gerber, A. H., McQuaid, G. A., Ratto, A., Bertollo, J. R., Benecke, R. M., Ki, D., Kaplan-Kahn, E. A., Cola, M., Gomez, E. E., Garagozzo, A., Verbalis, A., Todd, A., Anderson, T., Yerys, B. E., Kenworthy, L., & Wallace, G. L. (2026, November 12-15). Links between autistic burnout and depression in transition-aged autistic youth [Symposium presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 2026 Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
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Hindenach, A., Fischbach, A.L., Feng, J., van der Miesen, A.I.R., Strang, J.F. (2025, May 2). The Impact of Transgender-Limiting Legislation on Autistic Vs. Not-Autistic Transgender Youth [Oral Presentation]. In Strang, J.F., Gender Diversity and Autism: Gender Trajectories and Gender Outcomes in Complex Socio-Political Contexts [Panel Presentation]. International Society for Autism Research Conference 2025, Seattle, WA.
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Hindenach, A., Fischbach, A. L., Burgwal, A., van der Miesen, A. I. R., Strang, J. F. (2024, August 15-17). Understanding Patterns of Consistency and Inconsistency in Transgender Youth vs Parent/Caregiver Report of Youth Perceptions of Environmental Support [Oral Presentation]. National LGBTQ Health Conference 2024, Atlanta, GA.