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Autism includes core symptoms affecting general and social development. Up to 60% of autistic adolescents experience co-occurring anxiety disorders negatively influencing educational, social, and general development together with quality of life. A manualised cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program 'Cool Kids - Autism Spectrum Adaptation (ASA)' has previously demonstrated efficacy in reducing anxiety in children with co-occurring autism. The current study investigates the feasibility of adapting this program for adolescents. Fifteen autistic adolescents, aged 14–17 years, with co-occurring anxiety disorders were enrolled in the study. Outcome measures collected from both adolescents and parents pre-, post-treatment and at 3-month follow-up included participant evaluation of the program, scores from a semi-structured anxiety interview, and questionnaires on anxiety symptoms, life interference, and quality of life. 92% of the families who completed the program found it useful and would recommend it to other families in a similar situation. At follow-up, 55% no longer met the criteria for their primary anxiety diagnosis and 34% of adolescents were free of all anxiety diagnoses. Of the five adolescents who did not attend school before treatment three (60%) had returned to school after treatment. This study suggests that the adaptation of the program 'Cool Kids - ASA' into an adolescent version is feasible and has the potential to show good effects thus enhancing the possibility of education, development and independence in future life for this group. Larger RCTs studies are, however, needed to examine the efficacy of the adolescent version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development and psychometric evaluation of a brief self‐report measure (BEACON) to inform universal mental health screening in schools. Items assess symptoms and impairment associated with anxiety and attention/hyperactivity problems (grades 4–11) as well as depression and eating difficulties (grades 6–11), with optional items for suicidality and self‐harm (grades 7–11). Initial item examination based on Item Response Theory (IRT) and classical test theory involved 3844 students in grades 4 through 11 (Study 1) and identified 18 items for grades 4–5 and 31 items for grades 6–11 that fulfilled pre‐set criteria. Study 2 extended testing with 10,479 students in grades 4–11 and added an additional four items assessing impairment associated with eating difficulties for older students (grades 6–11) creating a total of 35 items for grades 6–11. All items, for both grade‐level versions, met the pre‐set criteria for IRT and classical test theory analysis supporting their strength in the measurement of the dimensions of concern. The measure showed good reliability (subscale alphas.87 to.95). Validity was also demonstrated against standard symptom measures, school grades, school absenteeism, and help‐seeking. The BEACON appears to be a psychometrically sound measure to use in the first stage of school‐based screening for mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate an adapted cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme for treating anxiety in adolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI). Participants with ABI (12–19 years, N = 36) recruited from two sites were randomly allocated into either the intervention receiving 11 sessions of CBT (n = 19) or a wait-list control group (n = 17). The primary outcome was participants' anxiety and secondary outcomes were participants' depression, self-perception, and participation in daily activities, and parental stress, measured at (i) pre-intervention, (ii) immediately post-intervention, (iii) 2 months post-intervention and (iv) 6 months post-intervention. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant treatment effects with the intervention group demonstrating greater improvements in self-reported anxiety, as well as self- and parent-reported depression from pre- to immediately post-treatment, compared to wait-list controls. Little evidence of treatment effects was found for the remaining outcomes (parent-reported anxiety, self-perception, daily participation, and parental stress). Significant improvement in self-reported anxiety found immediately post-treatment was maintained at two- and six-month follow-up. Findings provide support for adapted CBT as an effective means of reducing anxious and depressive symptomatology in adolescents with ABI compared to waitlist controls, and offer support for the use of these techniques to manage anxiety in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]