Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Early Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Clinical Anxiety: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Product Description:
Clinically elevated anxiety is a common, impairing feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A modular CBT program designed for preteens with ASD, Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism (BIACA; Wood et al., 2009) was enhanced and modified to address the developmental needs of early adolescents with ASD and clinical anxiety. Thirty-three adolescents (1115 years old) were randomly assigned to 16 sessions of CBT or an equivalent waitlist period. The CBT model emphasized exposure, challenging irrational beliefs, and behavioral supports provided by caregivers, as well as numerous ASD-specific treatment elements. Independent evaluators, parents, and adolescents rated symptom severity at baseline and posttreatment/postwaitlist. In intent-to-treat analyses, the CBT group outperformed the waitlist group on independent evaluators ratings of anxiety severity on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) and 79% of the CBT group met Clinical Global ImpressionsImprovement
Keyword(s):
Cognitive therapy, Early adolescents, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Individuals with disabilities, Parent training
Product/Publication Type(s):
Peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals Published/In Press
Target Audience:
Professionals
Alternative Format:
Electronic (disc, CD, 508 compliant web posting)
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COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A