Preliminary Evidence for Associations Between Emotion Dysregulation and Therapy Participation in Young Autistic Children.

PURPOSE: Participation in early intervention (EI) is associated with improved outcomes for autistic children (Berg et al. in 2024, J Autism Dev Disord, 5:3520–3529). Although emotion dysregulation (ED) is a common challenge in this population, it is rarely a primary target in EI, and the relationship between EI and ED is still unclear. METHODS: Using data from a large (n = 853) online sample of parents of autistic children, the present study aims to describe therapy participation and history within the sample and to examine associations between therapy history and ED. RESULTS: Speech therapy was the most common intervention, with occupational therapy and behavioral therapy as second and third most common. A number of associations were found between therapy utilization and ED, even when controlling for other factors known to contribute to ED. Specifically, participation in a greater number of types of therapies was associated with higher ED scores, while participation in specific therapies—particularly speech, behavioral, and occupational therapy—was linked to lower ED scores. DISCUSSION: While we cannot determine directionality or causality in these relationships, our findings support the need for more research to understand how ED impacts and/or is impacted by common EI services.