One hundred and ninety-six youth, ages 7-16, who fulfilled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria for various specific phobias were randomized to a one-session exposure treatment, education support treatment, or a wait list control group. After the waiting period, the wait list participants were offered treatment and, if interested, rerandomized to 1 of the 2 active treatments. The phobias were assessed with semistructured diagnostic interviews, clinician severity ratings, and behavioral avoidance tests, whereas fears, general anxiety, depression, and behavior problems were assessed with self- and parent report measures. Assessments were completed pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 6 months following treatment. Results showed that both treatment conditions were superior to the wait list control condition and that 1-session exposure treatment was superior to education support treatment on clinician ratings of phobic severity, percentage of participants who were diagnosis free, child ratings of anxiety during the behavioral avoidance test, and treatment satisfaction as reported by the youth and their parents. There were no differences on self-report measures. Treatment effects were maintained at follow-up. Implications of these findings are discussed.

No abstract

There has been growing interest in the use of telehealth; however, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent isolation and restrictions placed on in-person services have fast-tracked implementation needs for these services. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been particularly affected due to the often-intensive service needs required by this population. As a result, the aim of this review was to examine the evidence base, methodology, and outcomes of studies that have used telehealth for assessment and/or intervention with children and adolescents with ASD as well as their families over the last decade. Further, the goal is to highlight the advances in telehealth and its use with this special population. A systematic search of the literature was undertaken, with 55 studies meeting inclusion criteria and quality analysis. Specified details were extracted from each article, including participant characteristics, technology, measures, methodology/study design, and clinical and implementation outcomes. Services provided via telehealth included diagnostic assessments, preference assessments, early intervention, applied behavior analysis (ABA), functional assessment and functional communication training, and parent training. Findings, although still emerging, encouragingly suggested that services via telehealth were equivalent or better to services face-to-face. Results support the benefits to using telehealth with individuals with ASD. Future research should continue to explore the feasibility of both assessments and interventions via telehealth with those having ASD to make access to assessment services and interventions more feasible for families, while acknowledging the digital divide it could create.

Empirically supported treatments for childhood specific phobias are reviewed and critiqued using bioinf ormational theory (Lang, 1979). Treatments in these trials have been based on different underlying principles of change and have placed different priorities on altering the tri‐partite components of the pathological fear response (i.e., physiology, behavior, cognition) as well as the overall subjective experience of fear. Some studies place greater emphasis on altering behavior, others on cognition, and still others on physiology. However, these priorities have not always been attended to in guiding the evaluation of treatment outcome. It is suggested that future studies incorporate, in addition to individuals’ subjective fear, a theoretically based multimethod approach to assessment. Research is needed to examine the purported principles of change associated with treatment outcome and to determine the clinical utility of such an approach.