Facing Your Fears: Collaborating with Autistic Young Adults and Parents to Adapt an Evidence-Based Anxiety Intervention
College students in the United States have been presenting to counseling centers in increasing numbers for stress-related psychological health issues over the past decade (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2020). Most students who seek help at college counseling centers report anxiety as both the top and most frequent complaint affecting their functioning. At the same time, students with autism are increasingly entering and attending college (White et al., 2011). While it is known that rates of clinical anxiety in the adult autistic population are significantly higher than rates in the general adult population and that youth with autism respond to cognitive behavioral treatment, little is known about how autistic college students experience anxiety or how evidence-based interventions may be appropriately adapted for autistic college student populations. Given the need for information on how anxiety manifests in and impacts college students with autism, this study sought to gather firsthand input from autistic college students and their parents on students’ anxiety-related experiences as well as their treatment needs and preferences.
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