Teacher Perceptions of Anxiety in Autistic Vs. Non-Autistic Vignettes

Little is known about anxiety in autistic children from a teacher’s perspective. Given the barrier that anxiety may represent to school functioning in autistic children, it is essential that anxiety be accurately recognised and responded to. This preliminary study investigated teacher ratings (N = 45) of anxiety severity and their response to anxiety (i.e. the provision of referrals) as presented in written vignettes representing autistic and non-autistic children matched on anxiety severity. Results were analysed using Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests. Teachers rated vignettes of autistic children as having significantly higher anxiety than vignettes of non-autistic children. While teachers were more likely to refer an autistic child with mild anxiety for mental health support than a non-autistic child, teachers were no more likely to refer on autistic children with moderate and high levels of anxiety than non-autistic children (as depicted by vignettes). Findings highlight differences in teacher recognition of and response to anxiety in vignettes of autistic children and provide avenues for future research in this area.