Social-Communication and Self-Regulation Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This dissertation is comprised of two manuscripts presenting original research focused on elucidating the relationship between social-communication and self-regulation in the development of young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The first manuscript explores the association between early social-communication (i.e., joint attention) and sensory regulatory components of self-regulation (i.e., hyporesponsiveness and sensory seeking behaviors) at 13 and 22 months and examines these early behavioral constructs as predictors of communication competence in preschool using a community sample of children who were identified as at-risk for ASD. Results indicated that social-communication and self-regulation are related constructs in early childhood. Joint attention at 13 months was a key predictor of both joint attention and sensory regulatory features at 22 months. Sensory regulatory features at 22 months predicted receptive language, expressive language, and social-communication symptom severity in preschool. The second study examines the efficacy of an existing parent-assisted group intervention for 1st and 2nd graders with ASD targeting social-communication and self-regulation. Preliminary evidence supports the efficacy of this intervention for teaching social-communication and self-regulation knowledge and skills to children with ASD and their parents. Parent ratings also support the social validity of this intervention. The results did not generalize to parent-child interactions. These manuscripts, taken together, may offer preliminary evidence for key intervention targets related to social-communication and self-regulation in young children with or at-risk for ASD.