Conceptualizing and treating social anxiety in autism spectrum disorder: a focus group study with multidisciplinary professionals
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Background: Individuals who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly experience social anxiety (SA). Disentangling SA symptoms from core ASD characteristics is complex, partly due to diagnostic overshadowing and co‐occurring alexithymia. Causal and maintaining mechanisms for SA in ASD are underexplored, but it is feasible that there is an ASD specificity to the clinical presentation, with implications for the development of targeted treatments. Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with multidisciplinary professionals to investigate their perspectives about, and approaches to, working with individuals with ASD and SA. Data were analysed thematically. Results: Data analysis revealed two overarching themes: conceptualizing SA in ASD and service provision. Our results suggest that adaptations to service provision are pertinent, so as to accommodate inherent impairments that can mediate assessment and intervention. Conclusions: Future studies should establish how aspects of the care pathway can be improved for individuals with ASD and SA.
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- Authors
- Spain, D., Rumball, F., O'Neill, L., Sin, J., Prunty, J., & Happé, F.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience King's College London London UK
- St George's, University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Spain, Debbie
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-12-21
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- S1
- Pages
- 10-21
- ISSN
- 0952-9608 (ISSN-L)
- 1360-2322
- 1468-3148
- OpenAlex
- W2561617360
- Semantic Scholar
- 23aa54928ddaa8d8e6fd9fb9131895bc49dafa95
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- St George's Online Research Archive (St George's University of London) (acceptedVersion)
- City Research Online (City University London) (acceptedVersion)
- CentAUR (University of Reading) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health Research (CDRF–2012–03‐059)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- social anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, diagnostic overshadowing, alexithymia, service delivery, service adaptation, care pathways, targeted therapy
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anxiety, Female, Humans, Male, Focus Groups, Qualitative Research
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