Self-regulation is bi-directionally associated with cognitive development in children with autism

Children with autism are at high risk for self-regulation difficulties because of language delays and emotion-regulation difficulties. In typically-developing children, language development helps promote self-regulation, and in turn, cognitive development. Little research has examined the association between self-regulation and cognitive-skill development in children with autism. Children with autism (5–8 years), who were minimally-verbal (n = 38) or typically-verbal (n = 46) participated in a structured cognitive assessment and were observed for self-regulation difficulties during the cognitive assessment at the beginning and end of an academic year. Results showed that children with autism who were minimally- compared to typically-verbal had more self-regulation difficulties. Increase in self-regulation difficulties predicted less cognitive-skill gains, regardless of verbal ability, and cognitive skill gains also predicted changes in self-regulation difficulties. Interventions targeting self-regulation may be appropriate for all children with autism and should be adapted for minimally-verbal children.