Dr. Connor Kerns

Dr. Kerns has conducted and published studies on broad array of topics including the role of paternal age in ASD risk, the co-occurrence of childhood psychopathologies, and differential predictors of CBT efficacy for child anxiety. Her present research focuses on the overlap, assessment and treatment of anxiety and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Her ongoing projects aim to explore the varied presentation and phenomenology of anxiety in ASD and the implications of this variation for effective anxiety measurement and treatment. Dr. Kerns is also preparing to extend this work to the understudied area of traumatic events and their sequelae in youth with ASD. Another area of interest is the use of technology to facilitate the dissemination of empirically based treatments. Dr. Kerns is currently working to develop cost-effective, computer-assisted CBTs for youth with ASD and anxiety, interactive social stories to improve skill generalization in ASD, and video-enhanced ASD screening and educational tools. Her long terms goals include developing a parsimonious model of psychiatric co-occurrence to inform the design and dissemination of cross-diagnostic assessments and treatments that will improve child wellbeing and development.

Dr. Connor Kerns received her masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Temple University and completed her predoctoral internship in pediatric psychology at A. I. DuPont Hospital for Children. Dr. Kerns has received extensive training in the assessment and cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) of child anxiety and related childhood disorders at both the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic of Temple University and the Child and OCD, Tics, Trich and Anxiety Group of University of Pennsylvania. She has also had the privilege to train and collaborate with both the Seaver Autism Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Center for Autism (CAR) Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

For a full list of publications see Google Scholar.

Recent works:

Kerns, C. M., Winder-Patel, B., Iosif, A. M., Nordahl, C. W., Heath, B., Solomon, M., & Amaral, D. G. (2020). Clinically significant anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder and varied intellectual functioning. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Hunsche, M. C., Saqui, S., Mirenda, P., Zaidman-Zait, A., Bennett, T., Duku, E., Elsabbagh, M., Georgiades, S., Smith, I. M., Szatmari, P., Ungar, W. J., Vaillancourt, T., Waddell, C., Zwaigenbaum, L., & Kerns, C. M. (2020). Parent-reported rates and clinical correlates of suicidality in children with autism spectrum disorder: A longitudinal study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

*Hunsche, M., & Kerns, C. M. (in press). Update on the effectiveness of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents with ASD. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic.

Tesfaye, R., Courchesne, V, Yusuf, A., Savion-Lemieux, T., Singh, I., Shikako-Thomas, K., Mirenda, P., Waddell, C., Smith, I., Nicholas, D., Szatmari, P., Bennett, T., Duku, E., Georgiades, S., Kerns, C. M., Vaillancourt, T., Zaidman-Zait, A., Zwaigenbaum, L., Elsabbagh, M. (in press). Assuming ability of youth with autism: Synthesis of methods capturing the first-person perspectives of children and youth with disabilities. Autism.

La Buissonière-Ariza, V., Wood, J. J., Kendall, P. C., McBride, N. M., Cepeda, S. L., Small, B. J., Lewin, A. B., Kerns, C. M., & Storch, E. A. (2018). Presentation and correlates of hoarding behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders and comorbid anxiety or obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(12), 4167-4178, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3645-3

Kerns, C. M., Moskowitz, L., Rosen, T., Wainer, A., Drahota, A., Josephson, A., Soorya, L., Cohn, E., Chacko, A., & Lerner, M. (2018). A multisite, multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study for school-age to transition-age youth with autism. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 1537-4424, online first: doi: 10.1080/15374416.2017.1410826

Kerns, C. M., Postorino, V., Vivanti, G., Bradshaw, J., Siracusano, M., Mazzone, L. (2017). Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19, 92, online first: doi-.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0846-y.

Herrington, J. D., Maddox, B. B., Kerns, C. M., Rump, K., Worley, J., Bush, J. C., McVey, A. J., Schultz, R. T., and Miller, J. S. (2017). Amygdala volume differences in autism spectrum disorder are related to anxiety.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47, 3682-3691 online first: 10.1007/s10803-017-3206-1.

Kerns, C. M., Collier, A., Lewin, A., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Short report: Therapeutic alliance in youth with autism spectrum disorder receiving cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, 22(5), 636-640, online first: doi:10.1177/1362361316685556

Kerns, C. M., Newschaffer, C. J., Berkowitz, S., & Lee, B. K. (2017). Brief report: Examining the association of autism and adverse childhood experiences in the national survey of children’s health: The important role of income and co-occurring mental health conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(7), 2275-2281 online first: doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3111-7.

Wainer, A., Drahota, A., Cohn, E., Kerns, C. M., Lerner, M. D., Marro, B., Moskowitz, L., Soorya, L (2017). Understanding the landscape of psychosocial intervention practices for social, emotional, and behavioral challenges in youth with ASD: A study protocol. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 10, 178-197. doi:10.1080/19315864.2017.1284289

Kerns, C. M., Renno, P. Kendall, P. C., Wood, J. J., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Anxiety disorders interview schedule – autism addendum: Reliability and validity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 41, 88-100. doi:10.1080/15374416.2016.1233501

Select Past Work:

Kerns, C. M., Rump, K., Worley, J., Kratz, H., McVey, A., Herrington, J. & Miller, J. (2016). The differential diagnosis of anxiety disorders in cognitively-able youth with autism. Cognitive Behavioral Practice, 23, 530-547. doi:10/1016/j/cbpra.2015.11.004

Kerns, C.M., Wood, J.J., Kendall, P.C., Renno, P., Crawford, E. A., Mercado, R. J., Fujii, C., Collier, A., Hoff, A., Kagan, E. R., Small, B., Lewin, A. B., & Storch, E. A. (2016). The treatment of anxiety in autism spectrum disorder (TAASD) study: Rationale, design and methods. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1889-1902. doi:10/1007/s.10826-016-0372-2.

Kerns, C. M., Roux, A., Connell, J. E., & Shattuck, P. (2016). Adapting cognitive behavioral techniques to address anxiety and depression in cognitively able emerging adults on the autism spectrum. Cognitive Behavioral Practice, 23, 329-340. doi:10/1016/j.cbpra.2016.06.002

*Rosen, T., Connell, J. E., & Kerns, C. M. (2016). A review of behavioral interventions for anxiety-related behaviors in lower-functioning individuals with autism. Behavioral Interventions, 31, 120-143. doi:10.1002/bin.1442

Kerns, C. M., Newschaffer, C. & Berkowitz, S. (2015). Traumatic childhood events and autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3475-3486. doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2392-y

Kerns, C. M., Maddox, B., Berry, L., Kendall, P. C., Rump, K., Berry, L., Schultz, R. T., Souders, M. C., Bennett, A., Herrington, J., & Miller, J. (2015). Brief measures of anxiety in non-treatment-seeking youth with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 8, 969-979. doi:1.1177/136236131455865

White, S. W., Lerner, M., McLeod, B., Wood, J. J., Ginsburg, G., Kerns, C. M., Ollendick, T., Kendall, P. C., Piacentini, J., Walkup, J., & Compton, S. (2015). Anxiety in youth with and without autism spectrum disorder: Examination of factorial equivalence. Behavior Therapy, 46, 40-53. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2014.05.005

Kerns, C. M., Kendall, P. C., Zickgraf, H., Franklin, M. E., Miller, J., & Herrington, J. (2015). Not to be overshadowed or overlooked: Functional impairments associated with comorbid anxiety disorders in youth with ASD. Behavior Therapy, 46, 29-39. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2014.03.005

Kerns, C. M., Kendall, P. C., Berry, L., Souders, M. C., Franklin, M. E., Schultz, R. T., Miller, J., Herrington, J. (2014). Traditional and atypical presentations of anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44, 2851-2861. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2141-7

Kerns, C. M., & Kendall, P. C. (2012). The presentation and classification of anxiety in autism spectrum disorder. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 19, 323-347. doi:10.111/cpsp.12009