This is an exciting opportunity to explore the basis and possible treatments for social anxiety in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The studentship will be co-funded by the MRC, Autistica, and the Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment with its links to major international research networks, and other Sackler Centres in the UK and USA.Psychiatric disorders frequently co-occur with ASD, and may be as debilitating as the core symptoms themselves. High rates and levels of anxiety, and in particular social anxiety, have been reported in children and adolescents with ASD. However, the underlying cognitive processes that cause and maintain anxiety in those with ASD have not been well explored. The aim of this project will be to establish these underlying cognitive factors in order to inform treatment. Psychological interventions (notably CBT) have shown good efficacy for social anxiety in the general populations, but may need to be adapted for those with ASD. For example, while maladaptive thoughts about what others think (about the self) may drive social anxiety in 'neurotypical' individuals, problems of 'Theory of mind' in ASD make these a less plausible treatment target.This project will use multiple methods including cognitive experimental methods (creation of novel tasks), development of pilot interventions (on-line or in person), and analysis of existing cognitive and clinical data from an ongoing, longitudinal ASD twin study.This may lead to new:1. understanding of the factors underlying high rates of anxiety in ASD2. treatments for social anxiety in ASD 3. theoretically-informative and clinically-applicable understanding of heterogeneity in ASD.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
