Feasibility, Acceptability and Preliminary Treatment Outcomes in a School-Based CBT Intervention Program for Adolescents with ASD and Anxiety in Singapore.

Morrison et al. (2017) tested whether school staff in Singapore could run a CBT program for teens with autism and anxiety. They used the Facing Your Fears manual, shortened it, and added local examples. Teachers and counselors led the groups during school hours. Parents joined two evening sessions.

The team tracked anxiety levels before and after the 12-week program. They also asked parents, students, and staff if the plan felt doable and helpful.

Anxiety scores dropped after the program. Parents said their teens worried less and joined class more. Staff rated the plan as practical and easy to fit into the school day. No one dropped out, showing strong buy-in.

Students gave simple thumbs-up feedback. They liked practicing calm-down skills with classmates instead of strangers in a clinic.

Pickard et al. (2022) later ran the same Facing Your Fears plan in U.S. public schools. Their interviews matched E et al.: staff found the lessons usable and saw better class participation. This successor study shows the idea travels well.

Keefer et al. (2017) tested CBT for autistic youth in clinics, not schools. They found kids who hate uncertainty improved less. E et al. did not check that trait, so their sunny results might hide the same pattern. The two studies look opposite but simply ask different questions: one asks "Does it work in schools?" while the other asks "For whom does it work less?"

Tanksale et al. (2021) blended CBT with yoga and also cut anxiety. Together, the four papers tell us CBT works for autistic kids across places, people, and tweaks.

You do not need a clinic room or a PhD to deliver solid anxiety care. Train school counselors or teachers with the Facing Your Fears slides, give them a short manual, and set aside one class period per week. Check which students fear uncertainty most; they may need extra practice or simpler goals. Start with a small group, collect quick parent ratings, and grow the program once you see calm faces in class.