Brief, Intensive, and Concentrated Treatment of Specific Phobia in a Child With Minimally Verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder

This case study illustrates a brief, intensive, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for a young male client with a specific phobia of dogs and comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD). CBT has been shown to be an effective treatment for anxiety in children with ASD; however, this work has not often been extended to children with language impairment. This case study presents significant modifications to one-session treatment (OST) for specific phobia to make it applicable to a child with minimally verbal ASD. The intervention included four 3-hr treatment sessions conducted over the course of four consecutive days. Assessment sessions were conducted before treatment, and 1 week and 3 months following treatment. The client's phobia symptoms decreased following the intervention at both the posttreatment and follow-up sessions. The Reliable Change Index (RCI) was calculated to evaluate changes from pretreatment to posttreatment and follow-up and demonstrated a clinically significant decrease in phobia symptomology following intervention. The results suggest the potential efficacy for a brief, intensive, and concentrated CBT treatment for a child with minimally verbal ASD and a severe phobia.