Family-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Anxiety Symptoms in Children with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome
Project Description:
Children with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome are at high risk for developing a variety of anxiety disorders. The clinical research on this topic to date has focused primarily on documenting the co-occurrence of these disorders. The few treatment studies conducted thus far, have investigated the efficacy of medications in the reduction of anxiety symptoms for persons with ASD. Although psychosocial interventions are extremely effective in reducing anxiety symptoms in the general pediatric population, these strategies have yet to be systematically applied to children with ASD. Previous research has demonstrated that when traditional CBT protocols are modified for children with ASD and co-occurring anxiety symptoms, reductions in anxiety symptoms can occur. The primary purpose of this proposal is to assess the effectiveness of a family-focused intervention package on reduction of anxiety symptoms in children with high-functioning ASD.
Twelve children (and their parents) will participate in the pilot group treatment study, which employs a single subject, multiple baseline design. Three treatment groups will run for 12 consecutive weeks and include both a child and parent component. Start dates for the groups will be staggered, and multiple measures of child anxiety and parenting sense of competence will be collected during the extended baseline period. The 12 weeks of treatment will be divided into two intervention blocks: a) a neurobehavioral introduction to anxiety disorders and an introduction to CBT strategies; b) implementation and generalization of tools and strategies to treat the anxiety symptoms. Common CBT components such as graded exposure, cognitive restructuring, contingency management, modeling, and relaxation training will be included in the intervention package. Anticipated outcomes of this pilot study include completion of a set of treatment manuals describing a family-focused approach to reducing anxiety symptoms in children with ASD. In the future, these treatment manuals will used in randomized clinical trials of the intervention.
Keyword(s):
anxiety, autism, co-occurring disorders
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Research or Evaluation
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Education & Early Intervention, Health-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Specific Groups
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
