(provided by candidate): I am applying for the Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) program to promote my growth as an independent scientist. My goal with this award is to obtain the advanced training I need to develop an evidence-based treatment manual for a social skills intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and subsequently apply for an R01 to test these interventions in clinical trials. Children and adolescents with ASD who are cognitively 'high-functioning'frequently present with symptoms of anxiety, in addition to the core impairment in social interaction. This anxiety can interfere with their ability to integrate into mainstream academic environments, undermine their use of appropriate social skills in natural peer contexts, and impede their overall development. Thus, anxiety can be seen as compounding the social disability inherent in spectrum disorders, preventing otherwise able children from reaping the maximum benefit from interventions targeting social skill development. The K01 career development aims will allow me to gain additional instruction, mentoring and experience in: (1) assessment and treatment of ASD and childhood anxiety;(2) the design of psychosocial treatment manuals;(3) methods and statistical techniques appropriate for the design and conduct of randomized controlled trials of psychosocial interventions;and (4) responsible and ethical conduct of research. These training objectives relate directly to my research plan, the ultimate goal of which is to develop an evidence-based, efficacious treatment program for children with ASD that targets social skill development and anxiety reduction.
The aims of this research are: (1) to develop an alpha version of a treatment manual that addresses social skill development and co-occurring anxiety in school-age children and adolescents with ASD;(2) to pilot strategies comprising the treatment manual with a small group (n=5) of children to refine intervention strategies and delivery;(3) to collect preliminary data on the short-term efficacy, as well as feasibility, of this structured manual-based treatment in a sample (n=24) of children with ASD complicated by anxiety;and (4) to develop a grant application to conduct a larger scale efficacy study of the treatment curriculum. Through this training and research plan, I will be well-positioned to carry out independent investigations designed to translate an empirical understanding of anxiety and social disability in children with high-functioning ASD into novel treatment approaches.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01MH079945-05
Application #
8107586
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMH1-ERB-D (02))
Program Officer
Gilotty, Lisa
Project Start
2007-09-01
Project End
2013-07-31
Budget Start
2011-08-01
Budget End
2013-07-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$116,765
Indirect Cost
Name
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
003137015
City
Blacksburg
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
24061
Maddox, Brenna B; Miyazaki, Yasuo; White, Susan W (2016) Long-Term Effects of CBT on Social Impairment in Adolescents with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord :
White, Susan W; Schry, Amie R; Miyazaki, Yasuo et al. (2015) Effects of Verbal Ability and Severity of Autism on Anxiety in Adolescents With ASD: One-Year Follow-Up After Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 44:839-45
White, Susan W; Lerner, Matthew D; McLeod, Bryce D et al. (2015) Anxiety in youth with and without autism spectrum disorder: examination of factorial equivalence. Behav Ther 46:40-53
Pugliese, Cara E; Kenworthy, Lauren; Bal, Vanessa Hus et al. (2015) Replication and Comparison of the Newly Proposed ADOS-2, Module 4 Algorithm in ASD Without ID: A Multi-site Study. J Autism Dev Disord 45:3919-31
Mazefsky, Carla A; White, Susan W (2014) Emotion regulation: concepts & practice in autism spectrum disorder. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 23:15-24
White, Susan W; Smith, Laura A; Schry, Amie R (2014) Assessment of global functioning in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: utility of the Developmental Disability-Child Global Assessment Scale. Autism 18:362-9
Conner, Caitlin M; Maddox, Brenna B; White, Susan W (2013) Parents' state and trait anxiety: relationships with anxiety severity and treatment response in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 43:1811-8
White, Susan W; Ollendick, Thomas; Albano, Anne Marie et al. (2013) Randomized controlled trial: Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skill Intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 43:382-94
White, Susan W; Schry, Amie R; Maddox, Brenna B (2012) Brief report: The assessment of anxiety in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 42:1138-45
White, Susan W; Albano, Anne Marie; Johnson, Cynthia R et al. (2010) Development of a cognitive-behavioral intervention program to treat anxiety and social deficits in teens with high-functioning autism. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 13:77-90

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