Child-Centred Play Therapy and Rhythmic Relating improves emotion regulation in autism: A single-N pilot intervention study

Emotion Regulation is a key factor in the psychological well-being of children on the autism spectrum. Therapeutic co-regulation is posited here as fundamental to addressing Emotion Regulation needs. A therapeutic combination of Child-Centred Play Therapy and Rhythmic Relating is assessed in its potential to improve Emotion Regulation outcomes (over 10 months; 25 weekly sessions), via co-regulatory experience, in a case study of a 5-year-old autistic boy. The parent-rated Emotion Regulation Checklist (Shields & Cicchetti, Developmental Psychology, 33, 1997, 906) was completed every week. Mean Start and Finish scores were taken for checklist total and all subscales. Emotion Regulation percentage-change-over-time values are calculated for the participant and, using percentiles, are compared and statistically ranked in relation to our comparison group: Autistic boys without concurrent cognitive impairment, not receiving psychological or behavioural therapies (over 10 months; N = 66). A graphical representation of Emotion Regulation demonstrates weekly change. As compared to our comparison group, our participant's overall Emotion Regulation improvements (over 10 months) are statistically likely to be due to his participation in therapy (p < 0.04). Graphical representation of Emotion Regulation over time demonstrates a compelling blind correlation between the period of significant positive change in our participant's Emotion Regulation and the therapist's clinical notes on positive change observed in the clinic.