The Coping Cat program for children with anxiety and autism spectrum disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate whether a modified version of the Coping Cat program could be effective in reducing anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-two children (ages 8-14; IQ ≥ 70) with ASD and clinically significant anxiety were randomly assigned to 16 sessions of the Coping Cat program (cognitive-behavioral therapy; CBT) or a 16-week waitlist. Children in the CBT condition evidenced significantly larger reductions in anxiety than those in the waitlist. Treatment gains were largely maintained at two-month follow-up. Results provide preliminary evidence that a modified version of the Coping Cat program may be a feasible and effective program for reducing clinically significant levels of anxiety in children with high-functioning ASD.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01187784.

Figure 1

Participant flow diagram.

Figure 2

ADIS-P Interference Ratings for primary anxiety diagnoses across time. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Bold line represents ADIS-P clinical cutoff (i.e., Interference Rating ≥ 4 is considered to be in the clinical range).