Fearless Me!^© : A feasibility case series of cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with intellectual...

This study evaluated the feasibility of the Fearless Me! program, an online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for children with intellectual disability (ID) and anxiety.

Twenty-one adolescents with mild to moderate ID participated in ten sessions of the therapist-assisted Fearless Me! program, combining face-to-face group sessions and an online component. A case series design was adopted to assess anxiety symptoms at baseline, throughout intervention, and postintervention. Feasibility of the measures, intervention, and trial design were considered.

The measures were appropriate and sensitive to changes in anxiety, whereas the need for attention to factors influencing parent's completion of them was identified. Reliable Change Index and visual analyses of results indicated reductions in anxiety, particularly for older adolescents with heightened levels of anxiety at baseline.

This is one of the first CBT programs for adolescents with ID, and provides preliminary evidence of adapted CBT as a feasible treatment.