IB Psychology extended essay (EE) on Autism and Cognitive behavioral therapy with final grade of A

Tableofcontents

Introduction 3

SectionAutism
1: SpectrumDisorder 4
1Symptoms
. andsigns 6
1.
2Medicine andtherapies 7

SectionCognitive
2: BehavioralTherapy 9
2.
1Cognitive model 9
2Techniques
. 1

SectionCognitive
3: BehavioralTherapyandAutismSpectrumDisorder
13
3.
1Limitations 14
3.
2Future Research 15

Conclusion 16

References 18




2

,Introduction

Autismspectrum
disorder
(ASD) isdefined
by theAmericanPsychiatric

Association
as, “restricted,
repetitive
patterns
of behavior,
interests,
oractivities,

whichshowa rangeof manifestations
according
toage andability,
intervention,
and

current
supports.
(AmericanPsychiatric
” Association,
2017, p. 5). The numberof

individuals
diagnosed
withthis
disorder
hasincreased
globally
inthelast
two

decades
and, asa result
of the
lackof successful
therapies
andtreatments,
the

search
forpossible
treatments
continues
​(Swedo & Thurm, 201) ​. A common

treatment
arepsychosocial
therapies,
one beingAppliedBehaviour
Application

therapy,
alsoknownasABA therapy
​(DeFilippis
& Wagner, 2016) ​. Thistherapy
is

primarily
basedon learning
new behaviors
through
rewards
andconsequences

resulting
inincreasing
appropriate
anddecreasing
inappropriate
behaviors
(Smith, D

201). LikeABA, Cognitive
Behavioural
Therapyalso
knownasCBT, focuses
on

how onemightdeal
with
their
emotions
butwith
a broader
approach.CBT isbased

ona cognitive
modeldeveloped
by Beck(Beck, 1970), initially
designed
tohelp
with

mental
disorders
suchas depression
andanxiety,butnow usedfora variety
of

conditions
(Wright, 206). Thismodelallows
an individual
tomake connections

between
emotion
andbehavior,
whichisbeneficial
notonlyforcognitive
disorders,

butalso
formental
health
disorders
(Beck, 197). Thistypeof therapy
ismainly

basedon one'sapproach
andviewon the
situation.
For example, individuals
who

suffer
fromdepression
mightbe driven
by excessively
negative
ideas
andthoughts,

and therefore
their
interpretation
of events
isimpacted
(Fenn & Byrne, 2013).

Although
notfully
introduced
asanASD focused
therapy,
CBT isbecominganother




3

, typeof therapy
that
could
aidandtarget
individuals
with
ASD duetoits
flexibility
and

the
nature
of the
disease
asa comorbid
disorder
(Fenn & Byrne,2013). As such,

further
research
into
the
compatibility
of CBT andAutism
isworthwhile
andforthat

reason,this
essaywill
investigate,
To
​ whatextent
is cognitive-behavioral

therapy(CBT) an appropriate
therapyfor children
withautismspectrum

disorders(ASD)?



SectionAutism
1: SpectrumDisorder

The initial
ideaof ASD was brought
up by anAmericanpsychiatrist
called

Leo Kennerwherehe referred
tochildren
who struggled
with
social
interaction
as

“early
infantile
autism”,
todescribe
thechildren’s
lackof communication
(Kanner,

1943). In the
following
years,anAustrian
doctor,
HansAsperger,started
tolook
into

thebehaviors
that
we now associate
with
Aspergersyndrome, whichweremild

symptomsof ASD andhigher
intellectual
capability.
Due tothe
extreme
increase
of

diagnoses
inthe
1960s, the
numberof published
studies
onthe
topic
also
increased

(Evans,2013).

As of 20, according
tothe
Developmental
Disabilities
Monitoring
Network,

1 inevery54 children
inthe
USA arediagnosed
with
ASD (Data& Statistics,
20).

As the
name suggests
ASD, isa disorder
basedon a spectrum
andit,therefore,

includes
different
conditions
within
thedisorder
itself.
Underthe
Autism
spectrum,

fivemaintypesof Autism
canbediagnosed:
Autistic
disorder,
Asperger’s
Syndrome,

Rett
Disorder,
Childhood
Disintegrative
Disorder,
andPervasive
Developmental

Disorder
nototherwise
specified
(PDD-NOS) ​(AmericanPsychiatric
Association,

2013) ​. Thesefivetypesof autism
areall
under
Autism
Spectrum
Disorder
(ASD),




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