Autism and Anxiety : “An Investigation of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder” – The results of recent research from The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research h


Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research

Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research

You may remember that a few months ago (May 2014) we invited you to take part in a survey about autism and anxiety from The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research.

Today we are delighted to present the top line findings.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to use the comment boxes at the bottom of this blog.

This study looked at the prevalence of symptoms.

• 10% of participants were found to have borderline clinical anxiety levels, while 75% of participants obtained scores which placed them in the clinical range for anxiety. This finding is particularly interesting as a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder was reported for only 25% of the sample.
• Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (i.e. nausea, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain) were experienced by 80% of the sample within the last three months.
• Sleep problems were reported by 92% of the sample.
• At least one form of challenging behaviour (self-injurious behaviour, aggressive/destructive behaviour, stereotypic behaviour) was reported for 90% of the sample.


This study investigated the relationships between anxiety and other symptoms.

• Anxiety was found to be related to overall GI symptoms, indicating that higher levels of anxiety are associated with higher levels of GI issues. Specifically, nausea and constipation were found to be correlated with anxiety in this sample.
• Anxiety was found to be related to sleep problems, indicating that higher levels of anxiety are associated with higher levels of sleep problems in children and adolescents with ASD. Specifically, sleep onset delay, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, parasomnias, and daytime sleepiness were found to be correlated with anxiety levels in this sample.
• This study did not find an association between anxiety and challenging behaviour.

This study was also interested in looking at the factors which predicted anxiety.

• Sleep problems were found to positively predict anxiety in the current study. This means that high levels of sleep problems predict that an individual will also experience high levels of anxiety.
• Age was found to be a significant positive predictor of anxiety. This suggests that young people with ASD experience an increase in anxiety levels as they grow older.

Autism Research – Does your child experience anxiety? Please help The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) with their important research.


Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research

Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research

We are posting this invitation on behalf of Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN).  You can have a look at their web site here.

The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) in National University of Ireland, Galway are looking for parents of children and adolescents with ASD, aged 6-17 years, to take part in a study. The study will be looking at the effect of anxiety on young people with ASD in terms of challenging behaviour, sleep problems, and gastrointestinal issues. Even if your child does not present with symptoms of anxiety, you are still able to take part, as it is important for us to understand the effects of co-occurring anxiety by including individuals with and without anxiety problems. If you wish to participate, please use the link below.

Take part in the research into autism and anxiety!

 


Feeding your child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Please help The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) with a survey

Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research

Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research

Have you experienced difficulties with food with your child?  Maybe feeding problems have not been an issue for your child?   The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) in National University of Ireland, Galway are interested in hearing about your experiences with feeding issues with a child or adolescent aged 3 to 17 years with autism.  We are interested in understanding how feeding problems affect a child’s gastrointestinal symptoms, sensory problems and behaviour problems. Even if your child doesn’t have these symptoms, we can still learn a lot from your information on why some children have these symptoms and others do not.

Please click below to learn more.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_idSZPwZVjCQMD5hRl3fkvzzdzmX3T0AJaxoPbRnLWk/viewform

You may also be interested in a  previous blog post on this very subject https://patienttalk.org/autism-and-challenging-behaviour-part-four-eating-and-diet/