Parent perspectives of what helps and hinders their child on the autism spectrum to manage their anxiety

Abstract

Objectives Although anxiety is recognised as one of the most common co‐occurring conditions to affect school‐aged children with an autism spectrum disorder, little research has explored the strategies that children on the autism spectrum use to manage their own anxiety. Methods Seventy‐two parents of children on the spectrum aged 5 to 17 years identified things that supported their child to manage their anxiety (enablers) and things that hindered their child's management of anxiety (barriers) across the home, school, and community. Using content analysis, parents' open‐ended responses were coded into a series of subcategories for each setting. Results At home, “routine, modifications, and adaptations” was the most frequently reported enabler while “social, communication, and personal challenges” was the most frequently reported barrier to managing anxiety. “Supports and strategies (at school/in the community)” was the most commonly identified enabler that supported children to manage their anxiety in both the school and community environments. “Overstimulation, unpredictability, and demands (at school/in the community)” was the most commonly identified barrier hindering children's management of anxiety in both the school and community settings. Conclusions Given the wide range of barriers and enablers identified, working with children and families to identify the barriers and enablers for each child in managing their anxiety may be a useful process during therapy. Targeting interventions to align with the identified barriers and enablers may assist children on the autism spectrum to develop strategies for the management of their own anxiety across settings.

How have youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder managed quarantine derived from COVID-19 pandemic? An approach to families perspectives

“…Surprisingly, families stated that children and adolescents have better coped with quarantine than expected, given their difficulties to manage unpredictable situations. The lockdown decreed by the government has not necessarily propelled higher levels of anxiety in children and adolescents with ASD, contrarily to what usually happens with unpredictable and demanding contexts ( Clark & Adams, 2020 ). Perhaps more importantly, this finding claims for the need to build positive and supportive contexts for children and adolescents with ASD, with contextual opportunities and challenges and demands tailored to their needs and anxiety management levels.…”

“…Within population with developmental disabilities, changes and unpredictable situations are especially difficult to cope for people with ASD, derived from the core features of ASD such as restricted and repetitive interests, and social interaction and communication issues ( American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ). For instance, social communication, and personal challenges have been identified as the most frequently reported barriers to managing anxiety in children with ASD ( Clark & Adams, 2020 ). Specifically, overstimulation, unpredictability, and school demands hinder children with ASD management of anxiety ( Clark & Adams, 2020 ; van Steensel & Heeman, 2017 ).…”

“…For instance, social communication, and personal challenges have been identified as the most frequently reported barriers to managing anxiety in children with ASD ( Clark & Adams, 2020 ). Specifically, overstimulation, unpredictability, and school demands hinder children with ASD management of anxiety ( Clark & Adams, 2020 ; van Steensel & Heeman, 2017 ). Social and pragmatic difficulties are also related to a higher risk for anxiety and externalizing disorders ( Rodas, Eisenhower, & Blacher, 2017 ).…”

Effects of the Early Phase of COVID-19 on the Autistic Community in Sweden: A Qualitative Multi-Informant Study Linking to ICF

“…The distinctive diagnostic features and functional impairments are associated with a preference for highly predictable environments [3]. Conversely, change, unpredictability, and uncertainty are circumstances under which autistic individuals may respond with significant emotional and behavioral distress [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Moreover, caregivers of autistic children experience higher levels of stress than other groups of parents during pre-pandemic conditions [13] relating to the lifelong needs of their child, parents' pivotal role in advocacy, care coordination and provision, as well as typically variable access to targeted formal support [14].…”

Protocol for a longitudinal study investigating the role of anxiety on academic outcomes in children on the autism spectrum

“…Additionally, IU has been found to mediate the relation between autism and anxiety [ 28 ], where higher levels of IU are associated with higher levels of anxious symptomatology in these individuals. IU has also been shown to predict parent and family responses to anxiety management [ 29 , 30 ] as well as levels of school functioning using parent and child reports, including those specific to quality of life in children on the spectrum [ 17 , 18 , 31 , 32 ].…”