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Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
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Fear of Routine Physical Exams in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Prevalence and Intervention Effectiveness

Jennifer M. Gillis

Auburn University

Tammy Hammond Natof

Room to Grow

Stephanie B. Lockshin

Binghamton University

Raymond G. Romanczyk

Binghamton University

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a high prevalence of specific fears, including fear of general medical procedures, but research on the treatment of medical fears has been limited. Two studies are described in this article. The first study involved an assessment of the prevalence of fears associated with physical exams. Caregivers reported that a large proportion of children with ASD demonstrated obvious medical fears. An evaluation of a behavioral intervention designed to address these fears constituted the second study. Graduated in vivo exposure accompanied by reinforced practice and modeling decreased fear-related avoidance behavior in all participants, with 83% of participants completing the intervention successfully.

Key Words: anxiety • autism spectrum disorders • intervention • medical procedures

This version was published on September 1, 2009

Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 24, No. 3, 156-168 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1088357609338477
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