Delgado Daylin, LaPoint Shannon C, Simmons Grace Lee, Heinly Julia M, Shepherd de Whitney S, Kiernan Bridgett, Brookman-Frazee Lauren, Storch Eric A, Maddox Brenna B
TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, USA.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 Oct 12. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06574-1.
About half of autistic youth present with clinically interfering anxiety. Psychotherapies with exposure-focused elements are effective in academic clinical settings and controlled trials. However, there is relatively less research examining the implementation of modified interventions for autistic youth with anxiety in community mental health settings. The current study explores community members' perceptions of barriers and facilitators that impact autistic youth with anxiety's receipt of quality mental health services in their community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 autistic youth, 15 caregivers of autistic youth, 11 community mental health clinicians, and 8 community mental health clinic leaders. Interviews were analyzed thematically. Participants shared their experiences with facilitators and barriers to autistic youth with anxiety receiving quality mental healthcare. Themes that emerged include (1) characteristics of the autistic youth, (2) engagement of autistic youth and caregivers, (3) building rapport between providers, autistic youth, and caregivers, (4) access to mental health services, (5) intervention fit, and (6) provider characteristics. Based on participants' perspectives and suggestions, future directions for anxiety treatment programs tailored for autistic youth include building more time into the intervention sessions to build rapport, incorporating autistic youth's preferences into provider matches, and providing families with more psychoeducation.
约一半的自闭症青少年存在临床上造成干扰的焦虑症状。具有暴露聚焦元素的心理治疗方法在学术临床环境和对照试验中是有效的。然而，在社区心理健康环境中，针对患有焦虑症的自闭症青少年实施改良干预措施的研究相对较少。当前的研究探讨了社区成员对影响患有焦虑症的自闭症青少年在其社区获得优质心理健康服务的障碍和促进因素的看法。对15名自闭症青少年、15名自闭症青少年的照顾者、11名社区心理健康临床医生和8名社区心理健康诊所负责人进行了半结构化访谈。对访谈进行了主题分析。参与者分享了他们在患有焦虑症的自闭症青少年获得优质心理保健方面的促进因素和障碍的经历。出现的主题包括：（1）自闭症青少年的特征；（2）自闭症青少年及其照顾者的参与度；（3）提供者、自闭症青少年及其照顾者之间建立融洽关系；（4）获得心理健康服务的机会；（5）干预适配性；（6）提供者特征。基于参与者的观点和建议，为自闭症青少年量身定制的焦虑治疗项目的未来方向包括在干预环节中安排更多时间来建立融洽关系，将自闭症青少年的偏好纳入提供者匹配过程，并为家庭提供更多的心理教育。
