Renae Beaumont

Treating Transdiagnostic Processes in ASD: Going Beyond Anxiety

This chapter aims to provide a concise overview of the modifications considered necessary for an intervention for anxiety in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HF/ASD). There is growing literature that describes the types of programs available and recommended modifications for children with ASD and anxiety and we provide a review of those programs that are reporting significant improvements. The chapter then moves to consider the fact that children with HF/ASD often present with multiple difficulties, the basis of which is frequently emotion dysregulation. It is likely that the strategies used to manage these difficulties will have similarities with those used for anxiety. It is also the case that programs may need to be developed with these overlapping problems taken into account. The chapter proceeds to outline how this could be achieved with some examples presented from a program that is already moving in this direction—the Secret Agent Society.

The Secret Agent Society Social-Emotional Skills Program for Children With a High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Parent-Directed Trial

This study evaluated a parent-delivered social and emotional skills intervention—the Secret Agent Society (SAS) for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HF-ASD). The study was a pre–post follow-up design with an 8-week baseline period and 6-week follow-up period. Participants were 38 parents and 41 children recruited from regional/rural Queensland and metropolitan Brisbane, Australia. Child participants completed measures of social skills and emotion management, and parents completed measures related to child behavioral problems, parent self-efficacy, child anxiety, and parent emotional distress at pre-intervention, post intervention, and 6-week follow-up. Analyses of outcomes were conducted with a series of repeated-measures MANOVAs and one-way ANOVAs at post intervention and 6-week follow-up. There were significant improvements in child social skills reported by parents with gains maintained at 6-week follow-up with large effect sizes. Parent self-efficacy, child behavior, and child anxiety levels also improved significantly. In addition, outcomes from the SAS self-directed program were compared with the original clinic-based program conducted by Beaumont and Sofronoff. Results indicated greater changes in social skills outcomes in the clinic-based program and no difference between groups on emotional management strategies. The limitations of the study and clinical implications are discussed.