Friday, March 27, 2009

CBT for anxiety in autistic youngsters

Anxiety disorders are common in children with autism and are associated with more difficulties in getting on with other people. The characteristics of autism can make conventional treatments difficult but several studies have suggested that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) might be helpful. A study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, looked at the effectiveness of the Building Confidence* CBT programme, modified for use with children with autism. They studied 36 children between the ages of seven and eleven, half of whom were treated with CBT and half of whom went onto a waiting list. After 16 sessions of CBT both groups were assessed by independent experts none of whom knew whether the participants had used CBT or not. 78.5% of the children receiving CBT were judged to have improved compared to only 8.7% on the waiting list. Those parents whose children had had CBT were more likely to say they had improved although the children themselves felt no different. The improvements observed by the independent evaluators were still there three months after the treatment had finished.

Wood, Jeffrey J. ... [et al] - Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders: a randomized, controlled trial Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry March 2009, 50(3), 224-234

*The lead author of the study was also the author of the Building Confidence programme

3 comments:

DrJonesAnimalAgentzDotCom said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
DrJonesAnimalAgentzDotCom said...

Dear John
I did a PhD on web based CBT to help children which is now called
AnimalAgentz.com
We have support from UK and USA doctors.
Funding has been difficult (the NHS innovation hubs like it but not
sure how to help).

A major London hospital is slowly using our product in a children's
Burns Unit. We also have another specialist hospital who is
interested in using it for children when they undergo oncology and
chemotherapy treatment in the United States.

We are also working alongside a charity to enable children with a
short life-span to have a high quality life.

We are listed on The National Autistic Society to help children:
http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1404&a=13703

But Animal Agentz can also be used to just teach basic skills to help
children with stress etc. (When they are adults they might not
drink/smoke so much etc who knows?)

Dr Chris Steele MBE the famous TV doctor wants to put us on TV but is
choosing the right time. I have been interviewed on radio (New Zealand
etc ) and the press (special needs for children, moms blogs).
Recently Lord Darzi said he would also support it after seeing it demonstrated.

In spite of the above support and others we are still experiencing
difficulty sourcing the appropriate level of funding for our project.

We are looking for support, funding and awareness.
Best wishes
mark

please check out
www.animalagentz.com

steve said...

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