The Study of Autism and Self-Regulation has been paused since the pandemic and investigated the self-regulation skills of 3- to 6-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder and how these skills are related to their adaptive functioning and social-emotional competence. The focus of the current study is on children’s ability to regulate their behavior during emotion-eliciting events.
We use a multi-method approach for assessing children’s skills. For example, we document individual differences in children’s ability to regulate physiological arousal, as well as behavioral signs of children’s emotion-regulation skills, such as facial expressions, gestures, attention patterns, and verbal comments during a set of emotion-eliciting tasks.
Bev Wilson earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Washington. She completed her clinical internship through the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Before coming to SPU, she was a faculty member at Oregon State University for several years. Dr. Wilson’s research investigates how self-regulation and emotion processes are related to children’s positive development. She is especially interested in the potential protective function of these skills for at-risk children, such as children with autism spectrum disorder, general cognitive delays, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, as well as children with conduct problems and children from low-income families. With her research team she also investigates the roles of child individual differences, such as temperament and parenting in children’s development of self-regulation skills. Dr. Wilson is passionate about her work with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. She is the cofounder and director of the Initiative for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the goals of which are to train students and professionals working in this field as well educate the larger SPU and Seattle communities regarding disabilities.
For more information contact:
Beverly J. Wilson, Ph.D.
STARlab@spu.edu
206 - 281 - 2832
Seattle Pacific University
Meet the research team
About the Study of Autism and Self-Regulation Project (STAR)
The study
The Study of Autism and Self-Regulation is investigating the self-regulation skills of 3- to 6-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder and how these skills are related to their adaptive functioning and social-emotional competence. The focus of the current study is on children’s ability to regulate their behavior during emotion-eliciting events.
Method
We use a multi-method approach for assessing children’s skills. For example, we document individual differences in children’s ability to regulate physiological arousal, as well as behavioral signs of children’s emotion regulation skills such as facial expressions, gestures, attention patterns, and verbal comments during a set of emotion-eliciting tasks.
Relevance
Children’s performance on these tasks has practical importance to their social and educational competence. Children frequently encounter similar tasks in home and school settings, such as waiting to receive a desired object or resisting the temptation to act in an inappropriate way. Consequently, one aspect of our multi-method approach involves asking parents and teachers to report about children’s emotion regulation and executive control in these settings.
The goal
A better understanding the skills and characteristics that facilitate children’s performance on these tasks may lead to better intervention services for children with ASD. These interventions may help improve children’s classroom behavior and real-world social problem-solving skills where control over emotion, attention, and behavior are most important. Several dissertation students are gathering data as part of this larger study.
About the study of the Response of Individuals to Stressful Experiences (RISE)
The study
The investigative team at the STAR Lab understands that the COVID-19 pandemic may present unique challenges to the developmental disability community. We are doing our part to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding these challenges with your help. Shortly after the arrival of COVID-19 in the United States, we have worked with folks across the nation to collect data on the lived experiences of the developmental disability community. Members from the following groups have shared their perspectives during these unprecedented times: autism, ADHD, learning disability, FASD, epilepsy, Down Syndrome, blind or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, cerebral palsy, stuttering, and other developmental disabilities.