Mindfulness Training: Reducing Anxiety in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Mindfulness Training: Reducing Anxiety in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder Nancy Stockall1 · William Blackwell1 Accepted: 25 September 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Students with ASD frequently experience anxiety disorders as a co-occurring condition (Kent and Simonoff in Anxiety Child Adolesc Autism Spectr Disord. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-805122-1.00002-8, 2017). Symptoms related to anxiety disorders affect students with ASD in a variety of domains, including academic performance, inclusion opportunities within school, daily living activities, and social relationships. Although still an emerging field, research suggests that the implementation of mindfulness therapy (MT) and practice holds promise for addressing anxiety among students with ASD (Cachia in Autism Paradig Recent Res Clin Appl. https://doi.org/10.5772/65394, 2017). The ideas outlined in this manuscript can assist school personnel and parents in building a high quality mindfulness based program for students with ASD and anxiety disorders. Keywords Autism · Anxiety · Challenging behavior · Mindfulness A simple definition of mindfulness refers to an individual’s ability to attend to the present moment in a non-judgmental way. A person practicing mindfulness acknowledges emotions, sensations, thoughts, and sensory input without trying to analyze these experiences or test them. In this way, thoughts and worries cannot trigger emotional reactions or ruminations. Mindfulness therapy (MT) includes formal and informal practices that help the individual stay in the present moment (Hourston & Atchley 2017). Formal practice seeks to maintain attention through meditation while informal practice focuses on perceiving everyday sensory experiences. With mindfulness meditation, the individual might focus on breathing and as different thoughts enter the mind, the person acknowledges them without judgement and returns their attention to breathing. Over time, mindfulness meditation teaches the individual how to disengage a particular experience from its associated emotion, resulting in measured responses to various situations. These practices
* Nancy Stockall [email protected] William Blackwell [email protected] 1
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, USA
require conscious discipline and effort to counter automaticity of responses (Cachia 2017). A rapidly growing body of research supports mindfulness meditation and MT as effective pathways to improve self-regulatory and socioemotional competencies in child and adult populations. Studies of mindfulness meditation programs for school-based settings report successful and efficacious interventions with adaptations (Keng et al. 2011; Weare 2013). Because many mindfulness meditation programs are based upon adult participants, modified programs that reduce practice time commensurate with students’ age create a better fit for school-based programs (Wisner et al. 2010). Meditation programs offered by school social workers in school-based settings resulted in effective intervention outcome
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