Psychotherapy for Anxiety in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Condition: Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autism; Asperger's Syndrome; Pervasive Developmental Disability - Not Otherwise Specified; Obsessive-compulsive Disorder; Social Phobia; Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Specific Phobia; Separation Anxiety Disorder
MeSH terms: Anxiety Disorders; Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Compulsive Personality Disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Phobic Disorders; Phobia, Social; Developmental Disabilities; Asperger Syndrome; Anxiety, Separation
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Anxiety disorders affect 40 to 50% of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD),
      contributing to substantial distress and impairment. The goal of this study is to examine the
      effectiveness of a personalized type of psychotherapy against standard-care psychotherapy for
      addressing anxiety in youth with ASD.
    

Detailed description: 
      Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are common neurodevelopmental syndromes affecting 1% of U.S.
      children. Comorbid anxiety disorders affect 40 to 50% of children with ASD, causing
      substantial distress and impairment over and above that caused by ASD alone. Although
      standard practice cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been established as an efficacious
      and safe treatment for anxiety disorders among typically developing youth, its utility in
      comorbid cases with ASD remains unknown. To date, no studies have experimentally compared
      standard practice CBT to a cognitive-behavioral intervention that has been personalized for
      children with a comorbid presentation of anxiety and ASD. Accordingly, we are proposing a
      randomized controlled trial to be conducted at three treatment sites to evaluate the efficacy
      of personalized CBT for anxiety in ASD (Behavioral Intervention for Anxiety in Children with
      Autism: BIACA) relative to standard practice CBT for anxiety (Coping Cat program).
      Furthermore, this study will employ a waitlist control group to assess the efficacy of each
      CBT arm relative to the absence of treatment (i.e., a Waitlist control arm). The proposed
      research will: (1) examine the efficacy of BIACA relative to Coping Cat, which represents
      standard practice treatment, and the efficacy of both these treatments relative to a waitlist
      control group, (2) evaluate the maintenance of treatment gains, (3) examine the impact of
      personalized intervention on functional outcomes. A total of 201youth across 3 study
      locations (ages 8-13 years) with ASD and co-occurring anxiety will be randomly assigned to
      one of the three conditions. The three recruitment sites for this study are University of
      California, Los Angeles, the University of South Florida (USF), and Temple University.
      Considering the rising number of children diagnosed with ASD together with the frequency and
      severity of comorbid anxiety, the proposed work is tailored to the unique needs of youth with
      ASD and will provide a timely contribution to public health efforts.
    

Intervention name(s): Personalized Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Standard Practice Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Treatment as Usual
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Other intervention name(s): Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism; Coping Cat
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Autism; Asperger's syndrome; Pervasive developmental disability - not otherwise specified; obsessive-compulsive disorder; Social phobia; Generalized anxiety disorder; Specific phobia; Separation anxiety disorder; Counseling; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Psychotherapy