Adaptation and Feasibility of the Community-Based Anxiety Program Tailored for Autism (CAPTA)

Prior treatment

• 1.) The child has a diagnosis of psychotic disorder as determined by completion of a structured psychiatric diagnostic interview (the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview).
  • 2.) The child has severe current suicidal/homicidal ideation and/or self-injury requiring medical intervention (referrals will be made for appropriate clinical intervention).
  • 3.) The child is receiving concurrent psychotherapy for anxiety.
  • 4.) If child is taking psychotropic medication, regimen must have been started 8 weeks ago and stable for the past 4 weeks (or 2 weeks for stimulants or benzodiazepines). If appropriate, a delayed entry will be allowed so that once a child is on a stable dosage s/he may be enrolled.

• The adolescent is between the ages of 7 to 17 upon enrollment with an established autism spectrum disorder diagnosis (ASD) made by a standardized assessment (e.g., Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition; Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition), confirmed by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) ≥ 11 and/or total score ≥ 7 on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2). Dr. Storch will review diagnostic reports to determine whether an appropriate ASD diagnosis has been established.
• The adolescent has clinically elevated symptoms of anxiety based on elevated scores on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale modified for Autism Spectrum Disorder (\>12).
• Anxiety is the primary concern and the child is appropriate for intervention focus, as determined by completion of a structured psychiatric diagnostic interview (the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) by an independent evaluator (IE) supervised by an experienced, licensed psychologist determines that the child is appropriate for the intervention focus.
• Child has a verbal intelligence quotient greater than or equal to 70, as measured by the Verbal Comprehension Index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V).
• One parent/guardian is able and willing to participate (i.e., available during therapy sessions, attend study assessments).
• Child is eligible to receive services at the participating clinic.
• Both parent and child can read and/or understand English and/or Spanish.
• Both parent and child reside in Texas or Pennsylvania.