Bridging the Gap

An Evaluation of Anxiety Reframe Technique (A.R.T.) for Autistic Inertia and ADHD Paralysis

A 15-week, multi-method service evaluation | Revised 2026

Bridging the Gap reports a pilot service evaluation of Anxiety Reframe Technique (A.R.T.) with seven participants aged 9 to 59 with autism and/or ADHD and a range of co-occurring neurological, medical and mental-health conditions.

The evaluation explored whether working directly with physiological state through low-effort movement, sensory input and client-led pacing was associated with greater access to everyday capacities such as movement, initiation, communication, emotional regulation, interoception, sleep and social engagement.

Key findings

• 6 of 7 participants improved on WHO-5 wellbeing scores.

• 5 of 7 participants increased their ABAS-3 adaptive behaviour percentile rank.

• 6 of 7 participants showed lower nocturnal sympathetic arousal in the source analysis.

• 4 of 7 participants showed increased HRV.

• Participants and families reported broader changes in physical capacity, emotional regulation, communication, social interaction, sensory experience, sleep and everyday participation.

The findings suggest that A.R.T. may be associated with changes in functional availability — the moment-to-moment accessibility of capacities such as movement, communication, interoception, emotional regulation and participation under different physiological conditions.

This was a small, uncontrolled practice-based evaluation, and the findings are intended to provide a foundation for further research rather than establish treatment efficacy.

 

Lead author: Holly Bridges
Psychological oversight and thematic analysis: Duane Smith, Registered Psychologist
License To Think Pty Ltd | Revised 2026

 

 

 

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