Review on the Emotional Regulation of Autistic individuals

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is increasingly becoming prevalent among both children and adults. Because individuals with ASD often present comorbid symptoms such as depression and anxiety, research on ASD has become increasingly essential. This paper review a range of studies to examine the emotional regulation characteristics of individuals with ASD. Based on this foundational understanding of ASD, this paper aims to explore the mechanisms in greater depth and suggest improvements to existing interventions. According to all of the studies from different perspectives, this paper summerizes that ASD is such a sophisticated neurodevelopmental disorder which requires combined therapeutic interventions to effectively cure. This paper relatively deeply discusses different characteristics of emotional regulation of ASD with distinct perspectives from biological, psychological, and social aspects, providing researchers with some inspirations about possible drawbacks or shortcomings of existing therapeutic interventions, improvements on existing therapeutic interventions, and some effective new therapeutic interventions with specific targets. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBTs), and Social Skill Training (SST) are effective interventions separately but limited to some specific aspects. Thus, combing those interventions enhances efficacy to some extent. However, there are still some shortcomings of combing those interventions.