Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychological intervention for youth with an anxiety disorder. Despite the prevalence of anxiety in youth with physical disabilities, the application and evaluation of CBT for such youth is sparse. The current report illustrates ways to adapt, implement, and evaluate CBT for youth with anxiety and a physical disability describing "Olivia," a 12-year-old Caucasian female with generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and cerebral palsy. Olivia received 24 one-hour sessions of outpatient CBT over the course of 9 months. At post-treatment, Olivia no longer met criteria for any anxiety diagnosis by parent-and child-report, with gains maintained at 2-month follow-up. Important therapeutic issues for working with comorbid anxious and physically challenged youth are addressed, such as therapeutic engagement, working within a multidisciplinary team, conflation of psychological and physical symptoms, parental accommodation, family interaction patterns, and modification of exposures and related treatment strategies.

The present study examined the psychometric properties, including discriminant validity and clinical utility, of the youth self-report and parent-report forms of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) among youth with anxiety disorders. The sample included parents and youth (N= 488, 49.6% male) ages 7 – 17 who participated in the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS). Although the typical low agreement between parent and youth self-reports was found, the MASC evidenced good internal reliability across MASC subscales and informants. The main MASC subscales (i.e., Physical Symptoms, Harm Avoidance, Social Anxiety, and Separation/Panic) were examined. The Social Anxiety and Separation/Panic subscales were found to be significantly predictive of the presence and severity of social phobia and separation anxiety disorder, respectively. Using multiple informants improved the accuracy of prediction. The MASC subscales demonstrated good psychometric properties and clinical utilities in identifying youth with anxiety disorders.

Guidelines for conducting effective exposure treatment with anxious youth emphasize preparation for and processing of the exposure task as important elements, but limited research has examined these guidelines. Using multiple regression, this study evaluated the extent to which independent observers' ratings of preparation and processing of in-session exposure tasks were associated with treatment outcome in a sample of 61 anxiety-disordered youth. Results indicated that preparation for exposure was not related to outcome, but postevent processing of the exposure task was significantly associated with clinician-rated diagnostic improvements. Exploratory analyses suggest that treatment responders were more likely to be assigned between-session exposure tasks as "homework" and were more likely to be rewarded for their efforts in session. Although time is spent preparing youth for exposure tasks, the activities that occur after the task is conducted are influential in reducing youth anxiety over the course of treatment. Additional implications and future directions are discussed.

This paper describes the rationale, design, and methods of the Treatment for Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorders study, a three-site randomized controlled trial investigating the relative efficacy of a modular CBT protocol for anxiety in ASD (Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism) versus standard CBT for pediatric anxiety (the Coping Cat program) and a treatment-as-usual control. The trial is distinct in its scope, its direct comparison of active treatments for anxiety in ASD, and its comprehensive approach to assessing anxiety difficulties in youth with ASD. The trial will evaluate the relative benefits of CBT for children with ASD and investigate potential moderators (ASD severity, anxiety presentation, comorbidity) and mediators of treatment response, essential steps for future dissemination and implementation.