14 Feb Autism, Anxiety, and CBT
Posted at 02:55h
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is useful for countering anxiety in children with autism. It can also improve communication skills and mindset.
This video goes into detail on the methods used in CBT and the issues that they help address.
What We Learned from this Video:
- Many people with Autism Spectrum Disorder “catastrophize” things, blowing setbacks out of proportion and jumping to conclusions.
- Therapists try to get clients to examine their thoughts in the moment, trying to identify the negative thoughts that they have when feeling anxious.
- CBT requires the therapist to be flexible in the moment; they can adapt to the needs of each individual client in different situations.
- CBT has physical activities and breathing techniques for helping reduce anxiety in n on-verbal patients.
- Mindfulness plays an important role in CBT. Therapists try to make clients aware of their thoughts and their bodies.
- CBT provides tangible steps and actions individuals can follow that will help them feel relaxed and on the right track.
- CBT is about changing the patterns of the client’s thoughts.
- CBT can be a family activity, with parents joining in to make things easier for their child.
- Peer help and group sessions can be a huge help to people with anxiety.
- Psychology Today has a referral site for helping people get in touch with the professionals they need, as well as the insurance companies they work with.
- For children with verbal communication problems, you can help them talk about their anxiety by guessing what they might be feeling anxious about and inviting them to discuss it further.