A Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

描述(由候选人提供)：我正在申请导师研究科学家发展奖(K01)计划，以促进我作为一名独立科学家的成长。我获奖的目的是获得我所需的高级培训，为自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童的社交技能干预开发一份循证治疗手册，并随后申请R01以在临床试验中测试这些干预措施。认知“高功能”的自闭症儿童和青少年，除了社交方面的核心障碍外，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，并阻碍他们的全面发展。因此，焦虑可以被视为加重了谱系障碍固有的社会残疾，阻止了原本有能力的儿童从针对社会技能发展的干预措施中获得最大好处。K01职业发展目标将使我在以下方面获得更多的指导、指导和经验：(1)自闭症和儿童焦虑的评估和治疗；(2)心理社会治疗手册的设计；(3)适合设计和实施心理社会干预的随机对照试验的方法和统计技术；以及(4)负责任和合乎道德的研究行为。这些培训目标与我的研究计划直接相关，该计划的最终目标是为患有自闭症的儿童开发一个以证据为基础的、有效的治疗计划，目标是发展社交技能和减少焦虑。这项研究的目的是：(1)开发阿尔法版本的治疗手册，以解决患有自闭症的学龄儿童和青少年的社交技能发展和共生焦虑；(2)在一小群(n=5)儿童中试行包括治疗手册的策略，以完善干预策略和实施；(3)在患有自闭症并焦虑的儿童(n=24)的样本(n=24)中收集这种结构化手动治疗的短期疗效和可行性的初步数据；以及(4)开发拨款申请，以对治疗课程进行更大规模的疗效研究。通过这项培训和研究计划，我将能够很好地开展独立调查，旨在将对患有高功能自闭症儿童的焦虑和社交残疾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.