Definition
Functional behavior-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCB) in the pediatric population is a blending of two disciplines: (a) CBT with cognitive, social, and linguistic adaptions tailored to the specific needs of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and (b) functional behavior assessment and intervention derived from applied behavior analysis (ABA) to address perceived maintaining variables of target compulsions (e.g., positive social attention) that are beyond anxiety reduction. Working in combination, the two disciplines of CBT and ABA may allow for a more comprehensive treatment of overt and covert behaviors that comprise OCBs in children and youth with ASD.
Historical Background
In comparison to social-communicative challenges characteristic of ASD (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association 2013), research on restrictive and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) is limited. Factor analytic studies reveal two broad subtypes,...
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Vause, T., Neil, N., Feldman, M. (2020). Functional Behavior-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior in Children with ASD. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102481-1
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