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The Relation Between Teacher Functional Communication and Anxiety in Children with ASD
Researchers report significantly elevated rates of anxiety disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (Lopata et al., 2010; White, Oswald, Ollendick, & Scahill, 2009). This trend suggests the need for future anxiety focused interventions and exploration of this phenomenon in early development. Recently, studies have focused on the association between anxiety and adolescence in individuals with high functioning autism (Bellini, 2004; Myles et al., 2001; White et al., 2010). Co-morbid anxiety has also been associated with elevated social language impairments (Bellini, 2004; Myles et al., 2001). A further analysis of the relation between anxiety and functional communication skills in younger children will expand knowledge of anxiety development in children with ASD.
Objectives:
The purpose of our study was to assess the relation between functional communication skills and anxiety symptomology in children with ASD and children with typical development (TD).
Methods:
Our preliminary sample included 86 children ages 3:1 to 6:11 and their teachers. Fifty-five children (45% female; 55% male) were typically developing and thirty-one children were diagnosed with ASD (16% female; 84% male). Teachers completed questionnaires assessing children’s functional commination and anxiety symptoms (BASC, 2nd edition). Data collection for this study is ongoing.
Results:
A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the influence of developmental status and functional communication skills on anxiety symptoms. Child age and verbal ability were entered in the first step as control variables and did not predict significant variance, R2 = .026, F(2, 83) = 2.23, p = .974. Developmental status entered on the second step also did not contribute significant variance to anxiety symptoms, DR2 = .070, F(2, 81) = 3.04, p = .053. In the final step of the regression analysis, the interaction term between developmental status and functional communication skills accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in child anxiety symptoms, ΔR2 = .051, F(1, 80) = 4.67, p =.034. Children with ASD who were rated by teachers as having higher functional communication skills were reported to have significantly greater anxiety symptoms than children with lower functional communication skills. Typically developing children had similar levels of anxiety regardless of level of functional communication skills.
Conclusions:
Findings indicated children with ASD with the highest levels of functional communication skills received the highest ratings of anxiety symptomology per teacher report. Children with greater functional communication skills may be better able to communicate their distress leading caregivers and teachers to perceive higher anxiety. In addition, functional communication skills may correlate with other factors such as intelligence and awareness of deficits that make children with ASD more likely to experience anxiety symptoms. Functional communication skills may serve as a strength that can be utilized during interventions targeting anxiety in children with ASD.