Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety Disorders in Autism: Adapting Treatment for Adolescents

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.

Inclusion criteria

• Outpatient adolescents with ASD (see below) between the ages 11-14 years.
• Meets criteria for a diagnosis of autism, Asperger syndrome (AS), or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified .
• Meets criteria for a diagnosis of one of the following anxiety disorders: separation anxiety disorder (SAD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
• Child has a Full Scale and Verbal Comprehension IQ≥85.

Exclusion criteria

• Receiving concurrent psychotherapy, social skills training, or behavioral interventions (e.g., applied behavior analysis). Families will have the option of discontinuing such services to enroll in the study.
• Has started an antidepressant within 12 weeks before study enrollment or an antipsychotic 6 weeks before study enrollment.
• Has changed established psychotropic medications (e.g., antidepressants, anxioloytics) within 8 weeks before study enrollment (6 weeks for antipsychotic).
• Is currently suicidal or has been actively suicidal in the last 6 months.
• Has been diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders; or Substance abuse in past 6 months.
• Presence of a significant and/or unstable medical illness which might lead to hospitalization during the study.