Increasing Confident Thoughts in an Adolescent With Autism: A Pilot Study

Brown et al. (2022) worked with one 15-year-old girl who had autism. Each day she set a timer for one minute and wrote every positive thought she could.

The team counted her despondent thoughts before and after the daily timings. They also tracked her anxiety and depression scores.

After the daily minute, despondent thoughts dropped sharply. Anxiety and depression scores went down too.

The teen kept the gains while the study ran. A simple timing tool created a big mood shift.

Fradet et al. (2025) ran a telehealth mindfulness group for autistic teens. Both studies cut depression, but one used a full eight-week group and the other used a lone minute each day.

Santomauro et al. (2016) tried group CBT for autistic teens and saw only tiny changes. The single-case timing method looked stronger in this head-to-head story.

Laugeson et al. (2014) showed group CBT helped young adults with autism. Brown’s minute-timing gives a faster, cheaper option you can start tomorrow without a group room or extra staff.

You can add a one-minute timing to any session or homework packet. No extra cost. No group logistics. One teen dropped dark thoughts and felt better fast. Try it as a quick warm-up or exit ticket. If it works, keep it; if not, you have lost only sixty seconds.