Exposure-Focused Family-Based CBT for Youth With ASD and Comorbid Anxiety
Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Autism focused on measuring Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Treatment, Cognitive-behavioral therapy, Anxiety, Children, Therapy, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, Specific Phobia
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Outpatient children with an autism spectrum disorder between the ages 6-12 years.
- Meets criteria for a diagnosis of one of the following anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, panic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- Minimum score of 12 on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale - Severity Scale.
- Child has a Full Scale and Verbal Comprehension IQ > 80.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Current clinically significant suicidality or engagement in suicidal behaviors within the last 6 months.
- Presence of any clinical features requiring a higher level of care (inpatient or partial hospital treatment).
- Any lifetime diagnosis (meeting DSM-IV criteria) of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder; or Substance abuse in the past 6 months.
- Initiation of an antidepressant medication within 10 weeks before study enrollment or an antipsychotic medication 6 weeks before study enrollment or the child has changed the dose of an established medication within 6 weeks before study enrollment (4 weeks for antipsychotic) or during psychotherapy (unless the dose is lowered because of side effects). If the child is on a medication, she or he can remain on it at its current dose. While in their treatment arm, children randomized to the EF-CBT condition will not be able to continue or initiate psychosocial interventions targeting anxiety(psychotherapy, certain types of social skills training, applied behavior analysis targeting anxiety). Those in the TAU arm will be able to seek out psychiatric/psychological services at their discretion.
Sites / Locations
- Rothman Center for Neuropsychiatry
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Condition
Treatment as Usual
This arm is the experimental condition; it consists of 12 weekly CBT sessions. The therapy protocol will begin with an introductory education session which will include development of a fear hierarchy, followed by 11 sessions of in vivo exposures to feared triggers.
This arm acts as the comparison condition. Participants randomized to this arm will be instructed to continue receiving their prior interventions as recommended by their providers (e.g., psychotherapy, social skills training, behavioral interventions, family participation in family therapy or a parenting class, or pharmacological interventions). Treatment changes (e.g., medication increase, starting psychotherapy in the community) are not prohibited and will be monitored. Thus, treatment will continue as it would in standard practice; and will be monitored through periodic study assessment.