ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT06046170Updated Sep 2, 2026

Adaptation and Feasibility of the Community-Based Anxiety Program Tailored for Autism (CAPTA)

An interventional study of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Treatment as Usual in Anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Separation Anxiety, sponsored by Baylor College of Medicine. Completed at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 7 Years to 17 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-02.

Sponsored by Baylor College of Medicine · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
32
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
7 Years to 17 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Anxiety is very common in autistic youth. Recently, an intervention has been created by the investigators to target these symptoms in autistic youth in a community setting. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of implementing this treatment in community care centers.

Read the detailed description

As many as 50% of autistic youth have at least 1 anxiety disorder. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for autistic youth is effective at treating anxiety, but access is limited. The investigators have tailored the treatment to make it more accessible to families in the participants' home communities. The purpose of this project is to investigate how feasible it is to implement Community-Based Anxiety Programs Tailored for Autism (CAPTA) in community settings.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anxiety
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Separation Anxiety
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • Social Anxiety Disorder of Childhood

Keywords

  • cognitive behavioral therapy
  • children
  • adolescents
  • anxiety
  • Community mental health clinics
03

In context

Anxiety Disorders

7,201 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,682 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 32 is below the median of 80 across 6,057 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.

Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Baylor College of Medicine is the lead sponsor of 747 studies on the registry; 110 are open to participants now.

Of its 84 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 45 (54%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
7 Years to 17 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. The adolescent is between the ages of 7 to 17 upon enrollment with an established autism spectrum disorder diagnosis (ASD) made by a standardized assessment (e.g., Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition; Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition), confirmed by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) ≥ 11 and/or total score ≥ 7 on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2). Dr. Storch will review diagnostic reports to determine whether an appropriate ASD diagnosis has been established.
  2. The adolescent has clinically elevated symptoms of anxiety based on elevated scores on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale modified for Autism Spectrum Disorder (>12).
  3. Anxiety is the primary concern and the child is appropriate for intervention focus, as determined by completion of a structured psychiatric diagnostic interview (the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) by an independent evaluator (IE) supervised by an experienced, licensed psychologist determines that the child is appropriate for the intervention focus.
  4. Child has a verbal intelligence quotient greater than or equal to 70, as measured by the Verbal Comprehension Index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V).
  5. One parent/guardian is able and willing to participate (i.e., available during therapy sessions, attend study assessments).
  6. Child is eligible to receive services at the participating clinic.
  7. Both parent and child can read and/or understand English and/or Spanish.
  8. Both parent and child reside in Texas or Pennsylvania.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1.) The child has a diagnosis of psychotic disorder as determined by completion of a structured psychiatric diagnostic interview (the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview).

    2.) The child has severe current suicidal/homicidal ideation and/or self-injury requiring medical intervention (referrals will be made for appropriate clinical intervention).

    3.) The child is receiving concurrent psychotherapy for anxiety.

    4.) If child is taking psychotropic medication, regimen must have been started 8 weeks ago and stable for the past 4 weeks (or 2 weeks for stimulants or benzodiazepines). If appropriate, a delayed entry will be allowed so that once a child is on a stable dosage s/he may be enrolled.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
32 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    Participants will receive cognitive behavioral therapy that has been adapted for autistic youth with anxiety. These sessions will also include components of exposure. Participants will receive therapy around once a week for 14 weeks.

    Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

  • Placebo comparator
    Treatment as Usual

    Participants will complete treatment as usual. They will be referred to other community resources, including skills training. Additionally, participants may begin or end therapy and/or medication.

    Other: Treatment as Usual

Interventions

  • BehavioralCognitive Behavioral Therapy

    Participants will receive cognitive behavioral therapy with elements of exposure in order to target anxious behaviors.

  • OtherTreatment as Usual

    Participants will receive treatment as usual at a community mental health center, including receiving skills training.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale - ASD

    Clinician-rated child anxiety severity throughout the past week. Each item is scored on a 0 to 5 scale (higher scores correspond to greater severity), yielding a total between 0 and 35. This measure has been modified for autistic youth

    Time frame: baseline (before treatment), during treatment (on average 14 weeks), post-treatment (last week of treatment), 3 month follow up

Secondary outcomes

  1. Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-IV) with Clinical Severity Ratings

    Clinician-rated diagnostic interview that includes current anxiety disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and related disorders. Each diagnostic category is coded as present or absent based on symptom criteria and clinical severity ratings (CSRs), which indicate the level of clinical interference. CSRs are scored on a 0-8 scale (0 = not at all; 8 = very, very much). CSRs of 4 or above indicate the clinical levels.

    Time frame: baseline (before treatment), during treatment (on average 14 weeks), post-treatment (last week of treatment), 3 month follow up

  2. Clinical Global Impression-Improvement

    Clinician-rated child psychopathology severity rating. A single item is scored 0-6 (0= very much improved; 6= very much worse).

    Time frame: baseline (before treatment), during treatment (on average 14 weeks), post-treatment (last week of treatment), 3 month follow up

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • Johns Hopkins University
    Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
  • Baylor College of Medicine
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Jan 2024 to primary completion in Dec 2025, 23 months.

Of 3,836 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Anxiety Disorders, half reached primary completion within 12 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 28. This study's 23 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 3,938 studies reached it within 12 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 28.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 14, 2023
First posted
Sep 21, 2023
StartActual
Jan 15, 2024
Primary completionActual
Dec 30, 2025
CompletionActual
Feb 28, 2026
Last update
Sep 2, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 2, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06046170
Responsible party
Eric A Storch (Professor, Baylor College of Medicine) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 21, 2023
Start date
Jan 15, 2024
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2025
Completion
Feb 28, 2026
Last update
Sep 2, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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