ATTAIN-Autism Transition to Adulthood Initiative

PUBLICATION ALERT! Check out our new article based on Project ATTAIN (Autism Transition to Adulthood Initiative) research. This study explored predictors of different life experiences in adulthood for Autistic young people. In particular, we found that goal setting and psychological empowerment were significant predictors of all adult life experience outcomes tested!

Shaw, L. A., Brendli Brown, K. R., & Enayati, H. (2026). Autistic people and life experiences: the role of student skills and support. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17, 1-12.

Frontiers | Autistic people and life experiences: the role of student skills and support IntroductionStudies examining quality of life outcomes have shown that Autistic people experience lower scores across domains (e.g., physical, psychological)...

ATTAIN's Katie Brendli Brown was selected as one of the 2026 Fellows for the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Congratulations Katie!

AAIDD Announces its 2026 Fellows Listing of all of our news releases

The ATTAIN research team is excited to announce that we have received word from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) that we have been awarded a Field Initiated Research Grant, which is funded for the next three years. The title of our project is “Identifying Activities Linked to Improve Outcomes for Autistic Youth”.

The goals of the mixed-method study are to:
-identify predictors of successful transition from high school to postsecondary employment, education, and adult life experiences for Autistic youth
-explore factors that increase two- and four-year college retention, academic achievement, and completion