Welcome to the JFK Partners Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

TeleCopes is the telehealth version of the Facing Your Fears program and was developed through a study through funded from the Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA). The TeleCopes Project Director is Susan Hepburn, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist at JFK Partners.

TeleCopes uses videoconferencing technology to reach youth and their parents through their home computer. Families could be paired with anywhere from 1-3 other families that creates an online group therapy experience. In certain instances, individual therapy takes place due to the child's needs.

Weekly sessions are scheduled between a clinician and all of the families in a particular group. They all connect online and can see and hear each other. The screen has one box for each family and shows the clinician and all the families on one screen. To give you an idea of what it looks like, here is photo of a screen. 

Sometimes parent education is the focus of the session with some participation between the youth and other sessions focus on working with youth. Just like the live Facing Your Fears group participants, the TeleCopes participants complete a video that shows a strategy they adopted to help reduce their anxiety. Flipcams are sent to families to use in filming their video.

The TeleCopes program has also reached out to families and teachers around the state who are interested in learning more about how they can support youth with ASD who experience anxiety. Interactive webinars have been given by Susan Hepburn, PhD to address specific questions from parents and teachers. Here is a link to a webinar conducted by the project:

Helping Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders Cope with Worry and Anxiety in School

Although the grant has ended, the TeleCopes work continues. If you are interested in the program, please contact Kristen Kaiser at kristen.kaiser@ucdenver.edu. 

Facing Your Fears Manual

Reaven, J., Blakeley-Smith, A., Nichols, S., & Hepburn, S. (2011).  Facing Your Fears: Group Therapy for Managing Anxiety in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders, Paul Brookes Publishing Company, Baltimore.    

Anxiety is one of the biggest challenges faced by chidlren with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and Asperger syndrome. Help them conquer their fears - and participate more fully in home, school, and community life - with this innovative group therapy program for children 8-14 years old and their parents.

Ideal for small groups of 4-5 children but also effective in one-to-one therapy, this proven, ready-to-use program is a must for mental health professionals who work with children and families in clinical settings. Developed to address the specific needs and challenges of children with high-functioning ASD and Asperger syndrome, Facing Your Fears works because it:

• targets specific fears or worries that interfere with day-to-day functioning at home and school
• actively involves parents in every session - the key to helping children make progress and ensuring that families provide skillful, sensitive support
• is backed by more than 7 years of funded research, including two clinical trials with positive outcomes
• engages chidlren with memorable, age-appropriate strategies for defeating anxiety, from creating "worry bugs" to filming movings of themselves facing their fears
• gives children repeated opportunities to practice their social interactions with others
• uses the highly effective principles of cognitive behavioral therapy
• helps children and parents generalize the skills they learn in group to other settings
  

Reaven, J., Blakeley-Smith, A., Leuthe, E., Moody, E., & Hepburn, S. (2012). Facing your fears in adolescence: Cognitive-behavioral therapy for high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and anxiety. Autism Research and Treatment. Advance online publication. doi:10.1155/2012/423905

Reaven, J., Blakeley-Smith, A., Nichols, S., Dasari, M., Flanigan, E., & Hepburn, S. (2009).   Cognitive-behavioral group treatment for anxiety symptoms in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: a pilot study. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 24, 27-37. 

Reaven, J. (2009). Children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and co-occurring anxiety symptoms: Implications for assessment and treatment, Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 14, 192-199.  

Reaven, J., Blakely-Smith, A., Zapapas, L., & Ridge, K. (2009). Cognitive behavioral group treatment for adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and anxiety: A pilot study. The Journal of Psychological Practice, 15, 217-243. 

Reaven, J. & Hepburn, S. (2006). The parent’s role in the treatment of anxiety symptoms in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Mental Health Aspects of Developmental Disabilities, 9(3), 1-8. 

Helping Children with Special Needs Cope with Fears, Anxieties and Worries (slideshare presentation)

The clinical psychologists who created Facing Your Fears are clinicians and researchers at JFK Partners, a program of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Over the last 10 years, they have worked with many children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, who present with anxiety symptoms that interfere with their daily lives.  Through their clinical work and research program, they developed an intervention that provides youth and their families with strategies and tools to better manage anxiety.

Meet the authors...

Judy Reaven, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and has been the Director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at JFK Partners since 2001. She has worked in the field of developmental disabilities as a clinician, researcher, and educator since 1985. Her long-term clinical interests have included the co-occurrence of mental health symptoms in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, which is what led to the development of the Facing Your Fears program. Dr. Reaven has been Principal Investigator on several research grants funded by both private foundations (Autism Speaks, Organization for Autism Research) and federal agencies (NIH) which has assisted in the development of the Facing Your Fears program.

Audrey Blakeley-Smith, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked in the field of developmental disabilities since 1996. Her clinical interests include the assessment and treatment of co-occurring mental health issues in children with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, as well as the development of school-based peer-mediated interventions for youth with ASD. Dr. Blakeley-Smith has been Principal Investigator on a school-based study exploring the use of peer-mediated interventions to reduce rejection and increase inclusion of children with autism.

Shana Nichols, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher at ASPIRE Center for Learning and Development and has worked in the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and child development since the mid 1990's. She has received research and service grant support for work in sexuality, puberty, healty lifestyles, and ASDs and is the author of several peer-reviewed research articles and invited papers. Dr. Nichols currently specializes in adolescence and growing up, dual diagnosis and mental health, assessment and evaluation and the experiences of females with ASDs. She is lead author of the book Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum: What Parents Should KNow About the Pre-Teen and Teenage Years (Jessica Kingsley, 2008), with Gina Marie Moravick and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum. Dr. Nicols has worked as a clinician, researcher, administrator, graduate training supervisor, advisory board member, trainer and consultant in a wide variety of settings including outpatient clinics, residential programs, schools and the community.

Susan Hepburn, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and serves as Director of Research for JFK Partners. She is actively involved in intervention and developmental research, and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. She has worked with many children with autism spectrum disorders, their families, and school teams, in the development of coping as well as other adaptive behavior skills. Dr. Hepburn was recently the Principal Investigator on a federally funded study called TeleCopes, a program focused on the adaptation of the Facing Your Fears program using telehealth to reach children with ASD in underserved communities in Colorado.

Acknowledgements:

Training Outpatients Clinicians to Deliver Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Children Grant, National Institute of Health (Awards #R21MH089291 and 4R33MH089291-03) (2009-2013)

Tele-health Delivery of a Family-Focused Intervention to Reduce Anxiety in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Rural Colorado - Health Resources and Services Administration (Award #R40MC15593) (2009-2012)

Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy Intervention for Children with High-Functioning PDD’s and Anxiety Symptoms research funded by Organization for Autism Research, Autism Speaks, and Cure Autism Now (2004-2010)

Core funding from JFK Partners:

University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Grant, Administration on Developmental Disabilities (Award # 90DD0632)

Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Grant, Maternal Child Health Bureau (Award #T73MC11044)

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), NICHD funded Translational Neuroscience Nexus (Award# P30 HD004024-39)

The following are resources to encourage coping in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. These resources are considered suggestions, but not endorsements of specific authors or materials. 

Resources - Print version.pdf

Books for children:

Anger
When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry (Bang, 1999)
Sometimes I’m Bombaloo (Vail, 2002)
Franklin’s Bad Day (Bourgeois & Clark, 1997)

Anxiety
Parts (Arnold, 1997)
Owen (Henkes, 1993)
Wemberly Worried (Henkes, 2005)
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Willems, 2004)

Disgust
Everyone Poops (Gomi & Stinchecum, 1993)
Walter the Farting Dog (Kotzwinkle & Murray, 2001)
That’s Disgusting (Pittau & Gervais, 2004)

Fear
There’s a Nightmare in My Closet (Mayer, 1968)
Sheila Rae the Brave (Henkes, 2003)
Hooway for Wodney Wat (Lester, 1999)

Guilt
Jamaica Tag-Along (Havill, 1990)
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Henkes, 1996)
It Wasn’t My Fault (Lester, 1985)

Happiness
ABC I Like Me! (Carlson, 1997)
Chrysanthemum (Henkes, 1991)
Skippyjon Jones (Schachner, 2003)

Pride
Stand Tall, Molly Lon Melon (Lovell, 2001)
The Rainbow Fish (Pfister, 1992)
Quick as a Cricket (Wood, 1982)

Sadness
Koala Lou (Fox, 1988)
Tough Boris (Fox, 2000)
Two Cool Coyotes (Lund, 1999)

Shame
The Sissy Duckling (Cole, 2002)
Leo the Late Bloomer (Kraus, 1971)
No, David! (Shannon, 1998)

Understanding
All Cats Have Asperger’s Syndrome (Kathy Hoopmann, 2006) 

Books for parents:

Keys to Parenting Your Anxious Child (2nd Edition) Katharina Manassis, MD, FRCP

Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum: What Parents and Professionals Should Know About the Pre-teen and Teenage Years by Shana Nichols, Gina Marie Moravcik and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum

Multimedia:

Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story

Including Samuel - http://www.includingsamuel.com/home.aspx

Curriculum for mental health professionals:

Coping Cat Workbook, Second Edition (Child Therapy Workbooks Series) Authors: Philip C. Kendall and Kristina A. Hedtke.

Resources for school professionals:

When My Worries Get Too Big! A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety by Kari Dunn Buron

A "5" Could Make Me Lose Control! An activity-based method for evaluating and supporting highly anxious students by Kari Dunn Buron

Simple Strategies That Work! Helpful Hints for All Educators of Students With Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, and Related Disabilities by Brenda Smith Myles, Diane Adreon and Dena Gitlitz

What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety (What to Do Guides for Kids) by Dawn Huebner and Bonnie Matthews

A 5 Is Against the Law! Social Boundaries: Straight Up! An honest guide for teens and young adults by Kari Dunn Buron

Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Difficulties by Scott Bellini

Strategies at Hand: Quick and Handy Strategies for Working with Students on the Autism Spectrum by Robin Brewer and Tracy Mueller

Starting Points: The Basics of Understanding and Supporting Children and Youth with Asperger Syndrome by Jill Hudson and Brenda Smith Myles

Websites:

Autism Internet Modules
http://www.autisminternetmodules.org/
The Autism Internet Modules were developed with one aim in mind: to make comprehensive, up-to-date, and usable information on autism accessible and applicable to educators, other professionals, and families who support individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Written by experts from across the U.S., all online modules are free, and are designed to promote understanding of, respect for, and equality of persons with ASD.

Audio Series on Autism from the American Academy of Pediatrics
http://www.aap.org/audio/autism/
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has launched a new audio series, entitled Sound Advice on Autism, which includes audio interviews with developmental and behavioral pediatricians, a pediatric neurologist, autism researchers and parents of children with autism.