Idiographic Coping Outcomes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Co-Occurring Anxiety: Results from the TAASD Study.

Researchers studied 167 young people with autism and anxiety to see how well different treatments helped them cope with their specific fears. Two specialized therapy programs (Coping Cat and BIACA) worked better than usual treatment according to parents' observations. However, the young people themselves didn't report feeling significantly different between the treatments.

This study examined individualized coping outcomes in 167 youth with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring anxiety who participated in the Treatment of Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder (TAASD) study. Participants received either Coping Cat (CC), Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism (BIACA), or treatment as usual (TAU). The research focused on how well youth coped with situations specifically related to their individual fears, as measured by the Coping Questionnaire. Results showed that both CC and BIACA produced significantly greater improvements in caregiver-reported youth coping compared to TAU.

However, youth self-reports did not show significant differences between treatment groups.

Both Coping Cat and BIACA appear effective for improving anxiety-related coping in autistic youth from caregiver perspective. The discrepancy between caregiver and youth reports suggests need for multiple informants in treatment evaluation and consideration of youth perspectives in treatment planning.

The abstract does not provide details about study methodology, randomization procedures, or participant characteristics. The discrepancy between caregiver and youth reports raises questions about measurement validity and perspective differences that are not explored.

Versions of cognitive behavioral therapy (Coping Cat, CC; Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism, BIACA) have shown efficacy in treating anxiety among youth with autism spectrum disorder. Measures of efficacy have been primarily nomothetic symptom severity assessments. The current study examined idiographic coping outcomes in the Treatment of Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder study (N = 167). Longitudinal changes in coping with situations individualized to youth fears (Coping Questionnaire) were examined across CC, BIACA and treatment as usual (TAU) in a series of multilevel models.

CC and BIACA produced significantly greater improvements than TAU in caregiver-reported coping. Youth report did not reflect significant differences. Results show the efficacy of CC and BIACA in improving idiographic caregiver-, but not youth-, reported youth coping.