Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased stress, anxiety, and depression in children. A six-session, parent-led, transdiagnostic, cognitive-behavioral teletherapy program was adapted from an established protocol to help youth aged between 5 and 13 years manage emotional problems during the pandemic. Methods One-hundred twenty-nine parents of youth struggling with emotional problems during the COVID-19 pandemic participated in the program. Parents reported on their children's psychosocial functioning before and after treatment using validated assessments. They also reported on treatment satisfaction. Clinician-rated global improvement was assessed at each session to determine clinically significant treatment response. Results Significant improvements in parent proxy-reported anxiety ( d = .56), depression ( d = .69), stress ( d = .61), anger ( d = .69), family relationships ( d = .32), and COVID-19-related distress ( d = 1.08) were found, with 62% of participants who completed the program being classified as treatment responders. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. Limitations This study was limited by use of primarily parent-report assessments and a lack of a control group. Conclusions Brief, parent-led, transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral teletherapy appeared to be an effective way to help youth cope with the pandemic and may be a scalable framework in response to large-scale mental health crises.

In public schools, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students are overidentified with autism (AU) but are underrepresented in other special education categories. Such patterns may be result, in part, from overaggregation of data from students representing diverse AAPI ethnic groups. Yet, professionals' implicit biases, limited cultural responsivity in evaluation and research, and structural and systemic racism also likely contribute to the pervasive AU disproportionality in school‐based identification. To improve accuracy of AU identification and appropriateness of school services and programming, the current paper aims to enhance school psychologists' (SPs') awareness and knowledge about AAPI cultures and to improve their efforts in conducting culturally responsive evaluation with AAPI students suspected of AU. An overview of historical and current anti‐AAPI issues and AAPI cultural perceptions of AU are provided. Then, through the lens of sociocultural theory and using a framework of cultural humility, specific suggestions for culturally responsive autism assessment approaches are offered for SPs working with AAPI students and their families.

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