A Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

描述（由候选人提供）：我申请师徒科研人员发展奖（K01）项目，以促进我作为独立科学家的成长。我获得这个奖项的目的是获得我需要的高级培训，为自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的社交技能干预制定基于证据的治疗手册，并随后申请R01，在临床试验中测试这些干预措施。患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童和青少年在认知“高功能”的情况下，除了在社会交往中出现核心障碍外，还经常出现焦虑症状。这种焦虑会干扰他们融入主流学术环境的能力，破坏他们在自然同伴环境中使用适当的社交技能，阻碍他们的全面发展。因此，焦虑可以被视为加剧了谱系障碍固有的社交障碍，使原本有能力的儿童无法从针对社交技能发展的干预措施中获得最大利益。K01的职业发展目标将使我在以下方面获得额外的指导、指导和经验：(1)ASD和儿童焦虑的评估和治疗；(2)心理社会治疗手册的设计；(3)适合设计和实施社会心理干预随机对照试验的方法和统计技术；(4)负责任和合乎道德的研究行为。这些训练目标与我的研究计划直接相关，我的研究计划的最终目标是为自闭症儿童开发一种基于证据的、有效的治疗方案，以发展社交技能和减少焦虑为目标。本研究的目的是：(1)开发一个alpha版本的治疗手册，以解决学龄儿童和青少年ASD的社交技能发展和共存焦虑；(2)在一小群（n=5）儿童中试点包括治疗手册的策略，以完善干预策略和实施；(3)在24例ASD合并焦虑的儿童样本中收集这种基于结构化手册的治疗方法的短期疗效和可行性的初步数据；(4)提出拨款申请，对治疗课程进行更大规模的疗效研究。通过这个培训和研究计划，我将有能力开展独立的调查，旨在将对高功能ASD儿童焦虑和社交障碍的经验理解转化为新的治疗方法。

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.