The Role of Child-Directed Interaction in Reducing Emotional Distress in One Young Autistic Child

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often associated with emotional distress. In addition to cognitive characteristics, there are a number of other factors that contribute to increased emotional distress in children on the autism spectrum, such as respondent conditioning. Fear conditioning, as part of respondent conditioning, involves associating a neutral stimulus with a negative outcome, leading to the development of fear or anxiety responses. Fear conditioning may result from repeated pairings of neutral stimuli with negative events. This case study presents the effectiveness of the Child-Directed Interaction phase of Teacher Child Interaction Training, an emerging practice in schools derived from the evidence-based practice of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, on reducing the fear/distress response in one young autistic child. Results suggested improvements in the reduction of child distress stemming from respondent conditioning. Treatment implications for working with young autistic children are discussed.