Please read through the following information carefully, which will help you determine whether your child is suitable for treatment at the Emotional Health Clinic.

Can my child participate in one of your anxiety groups?

For your child to be eligible for treatment in the current trial, they must meet a list of criteria. These are listed below:
• Children must be in primary school (year 3-6).
• Children must have a formal diagnosis of Autism. Parents must bring a letter or report stating this to the Assessment.
• Children must be able to cope in a mainstream classroom setting. It is fine if they are supported with some extra help, but must be in a mainstream class at school most of the time.
• Children must have an anxiety disorder (i.e., anxiety must be significantly affecting your child’s day-to-day life.) We will assess this at the initial assessment.
• Children on medication will need to be on a stable dosage.

Our program will not be suitable for your child if they are currently:
• Displaying significant behavioural (oppositional) problems away from the family environment.
• Exhibiting significant hyperactive or inattentive behaviour, i.e., ADHD.
• Experiencing significant learning delays.
• Being physically or sexually abused.
• Suicidal and/or are self harming.

These exclusions are in place to ensure that our treatment programs are delivered to the children that will benefit from them the most. Each child will be carefully assessed to work out whether our treatments are really the most appropriate or whether other programs may be better for them.

What does the program involve?

To determine the suitability of the program for your child we will be asking you to complete a clinical assessment interview regarding your child and some questionnaires about you and your child’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Your child’s teacher will also be asked to complete a questionnaire about your child’s behaviour and emotions in the classroom.

If your child is assessed as suitable to participate in the study then you will be allocated to drug-free treatment program that is conducted in 12 sessions over approximately 4 months. Please be aware that we would prefer all parents living with the child to attend the program if possible.

What happens after group?

In addition to the above, we will ask your family to complete these same interviews and questionnaires again at the end of the program. All parents who attended the initial interview at the clinic must be present at the clinic for the post interview. If this is not possible we ask that the primary care giver attend the post interview. The post assessment helps us to evaluate how much your child has benefited from the program, and will allow us to make further treatment recommendations if necessary.

How much will it cost?

The standard cost for the clinical assessment that will determine whether your child is suitable to attend the program is $150. This fee is substantially reduced as it is conducted by Clinical Masters students. This cannot be claimed back from Medicare.

The full cost of the treatment program is $755.00, which covers all treatment manuals and tuition. The group will be run by a qualified Psychologist, which means if you obtain a mental health care plan for your child from your GP (or Paediatrician), you will be able to claim part of this treatment fee back from Medicare.

When will we go to group?

Groups run from 10-12 on Saturday mornings. We are aiming to start a group in April, with weekly sessions until mid-June. There will then be fortnightly sessions until mid-August.

What do I do now?

One of our intake officers will be contacting you shortly to conduct a short telephone interview to get a more detailed picture of what is happening for your child. If our intake officers agree that our programs may be suitable for your child, you will be placed on a waiting list for the first available face-to-face assessment at the Clinic. In the meantime, please feel free to contact the Clinic on (02) 9850- 8711 if you have any further questions.