Cognitive behavior therapy for anxious autistic children: An exploration of week-by-week changes

Amongst autistic children, anxiety and low coping self-efficacy are common experiences, and interventions to strengthen autistic children in these areas may improve long term therapeutic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine how anxiety and coping self-efficacy changes across an autism-focused cognitive-behavioral program. Parents and autistic anxious children from nine families living in a regional area of Australia completed measures of anxiety and coping self-efficacy each week of an eight-week program (72 data points). For the majority of families, results were consistent with positive but fluctuating gains across intervention sessions. Progress was more evident in parent reports than in children’s reports. Engagement with the program was excellent. Progress across the intervention was generally good but characterized by weekly experiences of strong growth and lapse. Preparing children and parents for the common experience of large fluctuations across sessions may be reassuring and promote continuing engagement with support services.