Development of a Transportation Skills Assessment Tool (TSAT) for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum to Aid in Finding Safe and Accessible Paratransit Services

摘要

In order to assist individuals on the autism spectrum in accessing public paratransit services, theTransportation Skills Assessment Tool (TSAT) was developed. The tool was modeled afterother assessments that are commonly used to evaluate individuals on the autism spectrum. Thegoal was to offer a reliable prediction on the ability of an individual to independently use publicparatransit services based on their performance in a controlled testing environment. The tooldeveloped by the researchers evaluates 37 separate tasks to determine the capability of anindividual to use up to five different types of paratransit services. Of the 37 assessments, 36were modified from previously validated assessment tools, and one was developed byRutgers. The paratransit services evaluated are: hand-to-hand, door-through-door, door-to-door,curb-to-curb, and ADA complementary. The tool is designed with three hierarchical sections forthe five different paratransit types as well as the trip planning and scheduling section. The TSATis designed to simulate each of the necessary skills in order to evaluate the individual's ability toindependently travel using one or more of the paratransit services. A pilot test was conductedwith five adults from the Rutgers Douglass Development Disabilities Center. Of the fiveindividuals tested, three were determined to have the ability to ride hand-to-hand servicesindependently and two were determined unable to ride paratransit independently. The pilot testindicated the TSAT was able to predict the capabilities of an individual in a simulated real-worldenvironment based on the in-class results with 100% accuracy.