DINOSAUR: an integrated cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety in young children with ASD
Background Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and often emerge before the age of 6 years. Yet, only a few studies have examined anxiety treatment for this group. Preliminary evidence from these studies suggests that utilizing cognitive be...
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Published in | Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 1 - 46 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
BioMed Central Ltd
01.12.2021
BioMed Central BMC |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Background Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and often emerge before the age of 6 years. Yet, only a few studies have examined anxiety treatment for this group. Preliminary evidence from these studies suggests that utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as strategies to target intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and parental accommodation, known mechanistic and maintaining factors of anxiety may improve anxiety and optimize outcomes in this age group. Main body To meet this need, we developed an integrated treatment called DINO Strategies for Anxiety and intolerance of Uncertainty Reduction (DINOSAUR), a 12-week group telehealth treatment for 4- to 6-year-old children with ASD. DINOSAUR works with young children and their parents to deliver CBT along with interventions targeting IU and parental accommodation. In this paper, we first discuss the rationale for developing this treatment and then describe a pilot study of its feasibility and preliminary efficacy. Conclusions There is a great need to develop anxiety treatments for young children with ASD. We proposed a novel integrated treatment approach that aims to alter the way young children and parents respond to fear, which could potentially improve short- and long-term mental health outcomes for this age group. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.govNCT04432077 on June 03, 2020 Keywords: Autism, Anxiety, Treatment, Young child |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 1866-1947 1866-1955 |
DOI: | 10.1186/s11689-021-09396-9 |