Autism spectrum disorders: treating co-morbid social anxiety disorder with adapted cognitive behaviour therapy | C4C

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are common lifelong developmental disorders affecting 1% of the population. Individuals with ASD often experience co-morbid mental health conditions including high rates of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Relatively little is known about why SAD occurs so commonly in ASD. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a recommended treatment of choice for SAD in the non-ASD adult population, but few studies have sought to establish if this is also an effective treatment for individuals with ASD and co-morbid SAD. This research study will utilise a mixed-methods approach to investigate social anxiety in ASD, and pilot a CBT intervention to treat these co-morbid symptoms.