Emotional Development of Children with Autism based on Developmental, Individual Differences Model

This study aimed to investigate the emotional development of children with autism spectrum disorder on the basis of Developmental, Individual Differences Model (DIR). Thirty autistic children were selected by non-random sampling from 3 autistic centers and 30 typical children were selected randomly from Tehran. The sample’s mothers completed the Functional Emotional Questionnaire (Greenspan, 2001). The parents of two groups were matched on socioeconomic status, age and education. The results indicated that there were significant differences between autistic and typical children in terms of 6 stages of emotional development: self- regulation and interest in the world, intimacy, two-way communication, complex communication, emotional ideas, emotional and logical thinking in their lower and previous ages (0-3/5). In the children’s current age, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the stages, except for the fifth & sixth stages in which emotional development of typical children were higher than children with autism. The lower emotional development of children with autism in the fifth & sixth stages might be due to the sensory processing, language, and vision defects in autistic children.