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Views of Teachers on Anxiety Symptoms in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 49, pages 704–720 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit comorbidity with anxiety. The aim of this study was the investigation of the perception of teachers on anxiety in school children with ASD. The Scale Teacher Response (SAS-TR) questionnaire was completed by 291 special education and 118 general education teachers, providing data on students in their classes with ASD and of typical development (TD), respectively. According to the total scores on SAS-TR, 46.8% of the children with ASD presented levels of anxiety within the clinical spectrum compared with 15.3% of the children of TD. Gender and age were not associated with the anxiety scores, but in the children with ASD, higher intelligence quotient (IQ) was weakly, and better verbal skills more strongly correlated with a higher anxiety level. Teachers’ awareness of anxiety symptoms in children with ASD may contribute to their social inclusion.

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Funding

Self-funded.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 156 Egnatia St., 54336, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Christine K. Syriopoulou-Delli

  2. Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Stavroula A. Polychronopoulou

  3. Department of Child Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Gerasimos A. Kolaitis

  4. Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Alexandros-Stamatios G. Antoniou

Authors
  1. Christine K. Syriopoulou-Delli
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  2. Stavroula A. Polychronopoulou
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  3. Gerasimos A. Kolaitis
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  4. Alexandros-Stamatios G. Antoniou
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Contributions

CKSD contributes collection of data, statistical analysis and writing of the study. SAP contributes collection of data and statistical analysis of the study. GAK contributes design and writing of the study. ASGA contributes design of the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine K. Syriopoulou-Delli.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and / or national research committee and with 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Appendix

Appendix

Letter to teachers

Dear colleagues, we kindly ask you to fill in the questionnaire below in order to gather data on the anxiety problems experienced today by many children with ASD in and out of school.

We live in an age that creates stress and stress on all of us. Stress refers to any situation that affects our organization and requires adaptation reactions. Problems start when the stress reaction is triggered regularly, so our body is in a state of readiness and is tortured, often for insignificant reasons. Experience has shown that not only adult anxiety situations are experienced, but also many children with and without special needs.

Dear Colleagues, we hope that the findings of our study will inform and sensitize the educational world, parents and the Greek State on issues related to the understanding and coping of children’s anxiety disorder in the autism spectrum. Intervention programs will be designed to help the child properly cope with the anxious situations that prevent his / her school and extra-curricular adaptation and disturb the day-to-day life of his / her own and of his / her family.

Thank you very much for your participation.

C___ S___

Assistant Professor at the Department of ___

of the University of ___

School Anxiety Scale: Teacher Reference

Please note by putting X or circle the word that fits your answer or answer in a few words.

  1. 1.

    Gender: Man Woman

  2. 2.

    Age: < 30, 31–40, 41–50 > 50

  3. 3.

    Years of service: < 5, 6–10, 11–15, 16–20 > 20

  4. 4.

    Education (you can name more than one)

    Pedagogical Academy ___

Pedagogical Academy and extra 2 years equivalent to higher degree

  • Department of Primary Education ___

  • Department of Special Needs Education ___

  • Another degree ___

  1. 5.

    Further studies

    • Teaching ___

    • Master degree ___

    • Doctorate ___

  2. 6.

    School unit you work in:

    • Special School ___

    • Parallel support at the primary school ___

    • Inclusion section ___

  3. 7.

    Years of service with children with autism: ___

  4. 8.

    Studies in Autism: Yes ___ No ___.

Epidemiological Elements of a Student

Gender: Boy___ Girl ___

Age ___

Class he/she attends ___

I.Q. ___

Nospeech ___ Monosyllabic speech ___ Developed speech ___.

Put X in one of the columns you will choose according to your answer.

The child Never Sometimes Often Always
1. The child is scared to ask questions inside the class 0 1 2 3
2. Speaks only when a question is addressed to him/her     
3. Worries about what others think about him/her     
4. Does not take initiative to ask questions or make remarks inside the class     
5. Is afraid to make mistakes     
6. Resents being the focus of attention     
7. Hesitates to start a job or ask for clarification about it     
8. Worries about a number of things     
9. Worries he/she won’t make it to school     
10. Worries that something bad is going to happen     
11. Looks very shy     
12. He/She complains about headaches, stomach or that he/she feels sick     
13. He/She feels fear when he/she has to speak in front of the whole class     
14. He/She hesitates to speak when he/she is in a group     
15. When is in trouble, he/she feels trembling     
16. Manifests irritation when approached by other children or adults     

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Syriopoulou-Delli, C.K., Polychronopoulou, S.A., Kolaitis, G.A. et al. Views of Teachers on Anxiety Symptoms in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 704–720 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3752-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3752-1

Keywords

  • Teachers
  • Perceptions
  • Anxiety
  • Schoolchildren
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Recommendations