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Co-designed Yoga Intervention for Anxiety in Autistic Children: Protocol for a Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial
Tundi Loftus1,2, Shu H Yau1,3, Jean Byrne4,5
1School of Psychology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|October 30, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a co-designed yoga program to help autistic children manage anxiety, offering a new approach when traditional therapies are less effective. The research will assess its impact on anxiety, emotion regulation, and uncertainty intolerance.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Psychiatry
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Autistic children exhibit higher anxiety rates than neurotypical peers.
- Standard anxiety treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) show limited efficacy in this population.
- There is a need for tailored, accessible interventions for anxiety in autistic children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a novel, co-designed video-recorded yoga intervention for reducing anxiety in autistic children.
- To compare the yoga intervention against a treatment-as-usual waitlist control group.
- To explore the intervention's effects on emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, and physiological markers.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial design.
- Participants: Autistic children.
- Intervention: Co-designed video-recorded yoga program.
- Comparison: Treatment-as-usual waitlist control.
- Outcome Measures: Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-5), Anxiety Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASC-ASD), Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale Child version (IUSC), heart rate variability.
- Analysis: Repeated measures analysis, mediation analysis.
Main Results:
- Primary outcomes focus on changes in anxiety severity using ADIS-5 and ASC-ASD.
- Secondary outcomes include improvements in emotion regulation (EDI) and reduced intolerance of uncertainty (IUSC).
- Physiological changes in heart rate variability will be assessed.
- Mediation analysis will explore underlying mechanisms of anxiety reduction.
Conclusions:
- The co-designed yoga intervention has the potential to be an effective complementary treatment for anxiety in autistic children.
- Findings may support the development of accessible, adaptable, and scalable therapeutic options.
- This intervention could benefit autistic children facing barriers to conventional therapies.
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