A Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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DESCRIPTION (provided by candidate): I am applying for the Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) program to promote my growth as an independent scientist. My goal with this award is to obtain the advanced training I need to develop an evidence-based treatment manual for a social skills intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and subsequently apply for an R01 to test these interventions in clinical trials. Children and adolescents with ASD who are cognitively 'high-functioning' frequently present with symptoms of anxiety, in addition to the core impairment in social interaction. This anxiety can interfere with their ability to integrate into mainstream academic environments, undermine their use of appropriate social skills in natural peer contexts, and impede their overall development. Thus, anxiety can be seen as compounding the social disability inherent in spectrum disorders, preventing otherwise able children from reaping the maximum benefit from interventions targeting social skill development. The K01 career development aims will allow me to gain additional instruction, mentoring and experience in: (1) assessment and treatment of ASD and childhood anxiety; (2) the design of psychosocial treatment manuals; (3) methods and statistical techniques appropriate for the design and conduct of randomized controlled trials of psychosocial interventions; and (4) responsible and ethical conduct of research. These training objectives relate directly to my research plan, the ultimate goal of which is to develop an evidence-based, efficacious treatment program for children with ASD that targets social skill development and anxiety reduction. The aims of this research are: (1) to develop an alpha version of a treatment manual that addresses social skill development and co-occurring anxiety in school-age children and adolescents with ASD; (2) to pilot strategies comprising the treatment manual with a small group (n=5) of children to refine intervention strategies and delivery; (3) to collect preliminary data on the short-term efficacy, as well as feasibility, of this structured manual-based treatment in a sample (n=24) of children with ASD complicated by anxiety; and (4) to develop a grant application to conduct a larger scale efficacy study of the treatment curriculum. Through this training and research plan, I will be well-positioned to carry out independent investigations designed to translate an empirical understanding of anxiety and social disability in children with high-functioning ASD into novel treatment approaches.