Affect regulation and temperament in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Konstantareas et al. (2006) looked at how kids with autism handle feelings and control impulses.

They compared these kids to typically developing peers using parent-report temperament scales.

The team also checked if age or school skills changed the link between temperament and emotion control.

Children with autism showed jumpier, less effective emotion control and lower Effortful Control.

Older kids and those with stronger academic skills had slightly better regulation, but the gap remained.

Taylor et al. (2017) narrowed the lens to preschoolers and found the same delay pattern, showing the problem starts early.

Ben Hassen et al. (2023) extended the story to adults, adding that alexithymia and weak body-signals fuel the struggle.

Fleury et al. (2019) clarify that alexithymia, not the autism label itself, drives both parent-child distance and later regulation woes.

Mulder et al. (2020) systematic review pulls 14 years of data together and confirms the 2006 picture: kids with autism score lower on effortful control and higher on negative mood.

You now have a chain of evidence from preschool to adulthood showing emotion control stays fragile in autism.

Screen every client for effortful control and alexithymia, then add teaching steps for labeling feelings, body cues, and flexible plans.

Match lesson difficulty to the child’s academic level; brighter kids can handle fancier coping scripts, while younger or non-verbal kids need visuals and sensory breaks.