This pilot study tested the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on parent-reported autism symptoms. Nineteen children with autism spectrum disorders and an anxiety disorder (7-11 years old) were randomly assigned to 16 sessions of CBT or a waitlist condition. The CBT program emphasized in vivo exposure supported by parent training and school consultation to promote social communication and emotion regulation skills. Parents completed a standardized autism symptom checklist at baseline and posttreatment/postwaitlist and 3-month follow-up assessments. CBT outperformed the waitlist condition at posttreatment/postwaitlist on total parent-reported autism symptoms (Cohen's d effect size = .77). Treatment gains were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Further investigation of this intervention modality with larger samples and broader outcome measures appears to be indicated.

J Autism Dev Disord. 2009 Jun 27. Wood JJ, Drahota A, Sze K, Van Dyke M, Decker K, Fujii C, Bahng C, Renno P, Hwang WC, Spiker M. University of California, Moore Hall Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA, jeffwood@ucla.edu.