Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety Disorders in Autism: Adapting Treatment for Adolescents
Condition: Anxiety Disorders in Youth With Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
MeSH terms: Anxiety Disorders; Autistic Disorder; Developmental Disabilities; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Asperger Syndrome
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2

Summary: 
      Comorbid anxiety disorders affect as many as 80% of youth with autism spectrum disorders,
      causing substantial distress and impairment over and above the autism spectrum diagnosis
      alone. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the gold standard treatment among typically
      developing youth with an anxiety disorder and when adapted, shows promise in children with
      ASD and comorbid anxiety. However, there is currently no psychotherapy protocol tailored to
      meet the unique needs of young adolescents with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and comorbid
      anxiety. Given this, the present study seeks to develop and test a new CBT therapy in
      adolescents with autism and comorbid anxiety.
    

Detailed description: 
      Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect approximately 1 out of 150 children and adolescents in
      the United States, making them one of the most common neurobiological conditions. Comorbid
      anxiety disorders affect as many as 80% of youth with ASD, causing substantial distress and
      impairment over and above that caused by an ASD diagnosis alone. While cognitive-behavioral
      therapy (CBT) has been established as the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders among
      typically developing youth, a protocol does not exist for early adolescents with ASD and
      comorbid anxiety disorders. Accordingly, we are proposing to develop a CBT protocol for
      anxiety and comorbid ASD in early adolescence.

      Initial protocol development efforts will focus on adapting relevant treatment elements from
      an effective CBT program for younger children with ASD and comorbid anxiety to the
      characteristics and clinical needs of early adolescents. Thereafter, protocol and measure
      development will be refined during Phases I and II of this study through our experiences
      treating a total of 20 young adolescents (ages 11-14 years - 10 will be treated at USF; 10 at
      University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)) with ASD and comorbid anxiety disorder(s). The
      CBT protocol will then be examined in a trial comparing CBT to a waitlist condition (N = 32
      total; 16 at each study site).

      The two recruitment sites for this study are the University of California, Los Angeles and
      the University of South Florida. The University of Miami will assist with quality assurance
      checks. Considering the rising number of youth diagnosed with ASD, and the lack of tested
      treatment options for those young adolescents with comorbid anxiety, our proposed work toward
      an efficacious CBT protocol will provide a timely contribution to public health efforts.
    

Intervention name(s): Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; Wait-list
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The form of treatment will involve 16 weekly meetings of about 90 minutes each. Sessions involve both the child and parent and involve teaching youth how to cope with their anxiety through a variety of behavioral techniques.; A wait-list essentially involves not receiving treatment for a specified period of time (in this case 16 weeks). No active treatment is provided; rather, the family 'waits'.
Other intervention name(s): CBT; Exposure therapy; Placebo
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Autism; Anxiety; Asperger's Syndrome; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Treatment; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Fears