Exploring the anxiety experience of adolescents with autism (aged 11-18) in a mainstream secondary school

Many children and young people (CYP) with autism are affected by anxiety.

Secondary schools can be particularly anxiety provoking and challenging for these students due to the academic, social and sensory demands in the environment.

This thesis examines anxiety in adolescents with autism.

A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of school-based anxiety interventions to support CYP with autism.

Ten studies were identified using three electronic databases. All the papers focused on evaluating Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) programmes.

The findings provided promising evidence for CBT programmes in reducing CYP's anxiety from parents' and clinicians' measures but not from child measures.

The limitations of the studies are discussed in relation to the implementation of the interventions in school with suggestions for future research.

The empirical paper adopted a mixed method design to examine anxiety experienced by adolescents with autism in school.

The quantitative phase focused on investigating gender differences in the level of anxiety experienced by the adolescents (N=89).

A multi-informant approach was used to triangulate the information provided by the CYP, alongside their parents and teachers.

The findings were mixed, as a significant interaction effect between autism and gender on anxiety was demonstrated in the parent measure but not in child and teacher measures.

The qualitative strand further explored factors that reduced anxiety and those that contribute to the anxiety experienced by adolescents with autism.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adolescents selected from the quantitative phase.

Thematic analysis indicated key themes of access to additional support, positive learning experience, positive social experience and use of coping strategies as factors that help to reduce anxiety.

Academic demands, social interactions and understanding, and school environment were identified to contribute to anxiety.

Limitations and implications of the study are outlined, with recommendations for future research.