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Abstract | Summary | Original Article
A randomized controlled trial of a cognitive behavioural intervention for anger management in children diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.
Sofronoff K. Attwood T, Hinton S, Levin I.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2007; 37: 1203-1214.
Bottom Line
This intervention is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which is known to be effective in helping people change thoughts and feelings that are inappropriate or damaging to self and others. The children who took part in the study were able to learn new ways of reacting to challenging situations which would have caused them to react angrily prior to the training. The parents also found that they could help manage their children’s angry responses much better compared to before the intervention. |
Question: Is a special form of CBT useful in reducing angry outbursts in children and adolescents diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome?
Background: Children and teenagers with Asperger Syndrome often have difficulties identifying and controlling their emotions. There is good evidence that these problems are related to a part of the brain involved in the recognition and regulation of emotions, especially anger, anxiety, and sadness. Giving people with Asperger’s Syndrome explicit instruction on how to identify and control their feelings could help them to get along better with others and reduce conflict at home, school, and in the community.
Design: This was a randomized controlled trial with a wait list control group. Groups met for six-2 hour weekly sessions and parents attended their own group.
Setting: Specialized clinic in Brisbane, Australia.
Participants: 45 children with diagnosed Asperger Syndrome aged 10 to 14, with average IQ, and their families.
Intervention: A specialized form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, delivered to children and teenagers, that provided knowledge about emotions and the skills to control them.
Main Outcome Measures: The child participants were asked to come up with ideas on how a friend described in a story as being teased could deal with his anger. This task was given to the children before they started the training, immediately after it, and at follow up. The children were also given a questionnaire listing situations that might make someone angry. They were asked to tick those that applied to them, suggest other situations that affected them, and to rate how angry they would become in those situations. Parents and teachers were given tests and questionnaires about their observations of each child, rating the severity of their anger, their ability to control their emotions, and whether or not they had seen changes resulting from the training. The parents also rated their own ability to manage their child’s angry outbursts.
Main Results: The parents reported that there was a significant decrease in angry behavior in their children after the intervention. They also reported that they were more confident in their ability to handle their child’s anger. Both teacher and parent reports showed that the children’s skills learned in the home were also transferred to school settings. The children themselves were found to have been able to identify many more strategies for managing their anger and were able to apply them in real life situations.
Conclusion: This study found that both children with Asperger Syndrome and their parents were able to learn new strategies to help the children control their angry behavior and better get along with other people.
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