Anxiety
occurs in about 40%-60% of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD), yet clinicians aren’t exactly sure how the symptoms present and how to
treat them.
A recently completed study study by a team at the Center for Autism Research (CAR), suggested that individuals with
ASD experience anxiety in two ways.
They
hypothesized that some children with ASD
experience traditional anxiety. These behaviors are the ones mental health specialists see on a regular basis, such as everyday worries, generalized anxiety, and
separation anxiety.
They also
hypothesized that some children experience atypical
anxiety. These behaviors are ones not commonly seen in anxiety disorders, but cause high levels of distress for children with ASD. Atypical anxiety includes symptoms such as excessive worry about changes in routine, anxiety about knowing
what to expect, or worry about very specific topics (the time, following rules,
etc.). For a subset of individuals with
ASD, these worries can be debilitating.
The
scientists found that of the participants, 63% presented with impairing anxiety.
Of the 63%, 17% had traditional anxiety symptoms, 15% had atypical symptoms,
and 31% had both.
The children
who had traditional anxiety were more likely to be anxious thinkers, have
sensory hypersensitivity, and have strong language ability. The severity of
their ASD diagnosis did not play a role.
The results
suggest that youth with ASD express anxiety in ways similar and dissimilar to
children without ASD. This has
implications for how we identify, treat, and study anxiety disorders in ASD. If we rely only on traditional definitions of
anxiety, we may miss the opportunity to understand and treat some of the atypical anxieties
facing children with ASD.
Source: Kerns,
C.M., Kendall, P.C., Berry, L., Souders, M.C., Franklin, M.E., Schultz, R.T.,
Miller, J., and Herrington, J. (2014). “Traditional and Atypical Presentations
of Anxiety in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(11), 2851-2861.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-014-2141-7