The Additive Effect of CBT Elements on the Video Game 'Mindlight' in Decreasing Anxiety Symptoms of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Lieke A M W Wijnhoven; Rutger C M E Engels; Patrick Onghena; Roy Otten; Daan H M Creemers

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-04927-8

The Additive Effect of CBT Elements on the Video Game 'Mindlight' in Decreasing Anxiety Symptoms of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Jan;52(1):150-168. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-04927-8. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Authors

Lieke A M W Wijnhoven^{1

2

3}, Rutger C M E Engels^{4

5}, Patrick Onghena^{5

6}, Roy Otten^{4

6

7

8

9}, Daan H M Creemers^{10

4

6

8}

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health Care Institute Karakter, Reinier Postlaan 12, 6525 GC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. l.wijnhoven@karakter.com.
² Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. l.wijnhoven@karakter.com.
³ Mental Health Care Institute GGZ Oost-Brabant, P.O. Box 3, 5427 ZG, Boekel, The Netherlands. l.wijnhoven@karakter.com.
⁴ Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵ Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, P.O. Box 5005, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁶ Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁷ REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 876005, Tempe, AZ, USA.
⁸ Mental Health Care Institute GGZ Oost-Brabant, P.O. Box 3, 5427 ZG, Boekel, The Netherlands.
⁹ Mental Health Care Institute Pluryn, P.O. Box 53, 6500 AB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
¹⁰ Mental Health Care Institute Karakter, Reinier Postlaan 12, 6525 GC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the additive effect of elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on the video game Mindlight in decreasing anxiety of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A non-concurrent multiple baseline design with 8 children with ASD in the age of 8-12 was used. CBT did not have the hypothesized additive effect on Mindlight in decreasing anxiety of children with ASD. Instead, multiple participants already experienced a decrease in anxiety during the Mindlight sessions. Yet, several participants did experience a stabilization in anxiety at a low level during the CBT sessions. For now, it can be concluded that CBT does not have an additive effect on Mindlight.

Keywords: Anxiety symptoms; Autism spectrum disorders; Children; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Video game.

MeSH terms

Anxiety / therapy
Anxiety Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorder* / therapy
Child
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Humans
Video Games*