| dc.description.abstract | Background and Aims: Emotional regulation is a transactional process between an
individual, their environment and involves controlled or automatic strategies executed
in response to stimuli which trigger emotions (Gross & Thompson, 2007). Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is an evidenced-based therapeutic intervention which
addresses behavioural expressions of problems and the underlying cognitions.
Adapted CBT interventions can be used to address emotional regulation challenges
for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (Weiss et al., 2018) despite being
an area of limited appraisal. This research evaluates the effectiveness of “The Zones
of Regulation”. Sample: Participants included a non-random sample of 12 primary
school children (9-12 years) with a diagnosis of ASD, their guardians and teachers
from three ASD classes in Ireland. Method: The intervention was delivered within a
school environment over 12 weeks using a quasi-experimental waitlist control design.
Parent-, child- and teacher-reported measures were administered at baseline, postintervention,
and at post-waitlist/follow-up. Results: Results suggest initial but mixed
evidence for The Zones of Regulation on improving emotional regulation outcomes
for children diagnosed with ASD. No interaction effects or significant difference
between groups were found although a significant effect of time was found. The
Waitlist group scores improved significantly on teacher-reported measures directly
following their intervention. While not the target group, results offer preliminary
evidence for the intervention as the effect size was found to be large. The CBT group
scores indicated a decline in lability/negativity as reported by parents following
intervention and at follow-up. While results did not reach significance, the CBT group
indicated an increase in coping skills and a decrease in dysregulation following
intervention and at follow-up as reported by children. Social validity outcomes
indicate that the intervention has high feasibility amongst teachers. Conclusion: This
research provides empirical data on the use of CBT-based interventions, can assist
Educational Psychologist’s in selecting and evaluating interventions for children with
ASD, and provides information regarding the feasibility, implementation and lasting
outcomes of such interventions within an Irish school context. Further research is
required in order to provide more consistent and reliable statistical evaluations of the
intervention. | en_US |
