Supporting Emotion Regulation – November 2025
ImPACT Update
Issue: November 2025
This Issue’s Focus: Supporting Emotion Regulation through Project ImPACT
Emotion regulation is the ability to manage one’s emotions and behavior effectively. Many young children with social communication delays also experience difficulty with emotion regulation. Parent-mediated intervention programs for these children often focus on social communication development, which is closely tied to emotion regulation. New research and clinical experience suggest that Project ImPACT and other NDBIs can help children develop these emotion regulation skills.
- Research Spotlight:
Check out a new study by Kushner and colleagues that examines whether Project ImPACT contributes to meaningful improvements in this area. By analyzing clinical data from real-world implementation, the study uncovered promising links between parent strategy use and reductions in emotional dysregulation. - Practice Notes:
Check out our tips for helping parents support their child’s emotion regulation while teaching the Project ImPACT F.A.C.T.S. - Announcements:
Check out our latest announcements, upcoming trainings, and other news.
Research Spotlight
Research Spotlight
Addressing Emotional Dysregulation Within NDBI for Young Autistic Children: Outcomes and Factors Related to Change
Authors: Elizabeth H. Kushner, Chloe B. Holbrook, Nicole M. Hendrix, Josie Dylan Douglas-Brown, and Katherine E. Pickard.
Journal: Behavioral Sciences, 15(7), 975. (2025)
This study explored how Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), specifically Project ImPACT, can help young autistic children with emotional dysregulation. While NDBIs typically focus on social communication, this research investigated their secondary impact on emotion regulation.
Study Snapshot
What was done?
This was a secondary analysis of routine clinical data collected from families completing Project ImPACT, a caregiver-mediated NDBI, in an outpatient clinic setting. The study characterized changes in emotional dysregulation and assessed factors related to individual change.
Who was involved?
111 caregiver-child dyads participated, with children aged 14 to 48 months (M=33.8; SD=8.02). Participants included young autistic children and children with social communication delays who completed at least eight sessions of Project ImPACT.
The intervention:
Project ImPACT: An evidence-based, caregiver-mediated Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) focusing on supporting social engagement, communication, imitation, and play skills using both developmental and behavioral strategies. Delivered once per week for 1 hour over 12-14 weeks.
When were measurements taken?
Beginning of Services (Baseline)
Completion of Services (12-14 weeks)
What was measured?
- Child Emotional Dysregulation: Caregiver-reported using the Emotional Dysregulation Inventory-Young Child (EDI-YC) reactivity index.
- Child Social Communication: Caregiver-reported using the Social Communication Checklist (SCC) for social engagement and expressive communication.
- Caregiver Fidelity: Clinician ratings of how consistently caregivers implemented Project ImPACT strategies (developmental, behavioral, and “Shape the Interaction”).
Key Findings
Reductions in Emotional Dysregulation:
Children showed significant reductions in emotional dysregulation throughout Project ImPACT. These reductions were particularly notable for children who began the program with elevated dysregulation (7.72-point reduction in the high reactivity group).
Baseline Social Engagement Predicts Outcome:
Higher child social engagement at baseline significantly predicted lower emotional reactivity scores at the end of intervention, suggesting that engagement facilitates regulation improvements.
Caregiver Fidelity Matters:
Overall caregiver fidelity to Project ImPACT strategies was significantly associated with reductions in child emotional reactivity.
Behavioral and Pacing Strategies are Key:
Fidelity to behavioral (“Create opportunities” and “Teach new skills”) and pacing (“Shape the interaction”) strategies significantly predicted reductions in emotional reactivity, especially for children with high baseline reactivity. Developmental strategies (“Focus on your child” and “Adjust your communication”) alone were not directly linked to changes in emotion regulation.
Why It Matters
NDBIs Support Emotion Regulation:
These findings suggest that NDBIs like Project ImPACT are a promising approach for addressing emotional dysregulation in young autistic children, in addition to social communication skills.
Efficient Intervention Approach:
Integrating emotion regulation support within existing NDBI frameworks can address a critical gap without increasing service coordination demands for families, alleviating caregiver stress.
Provider Training Needs:
The high prevalence of clinically significant emotional dysregulation highlights a greater need to support early intervention providers in addressing dysregulation and potentially integrate emotion regulation content into NDBI training.
Practice Notes
Supporting Emotion Regulation with F.A.C.T.S. Strategies
Emotion regulation develops through everyday interactions. Clinicians can help parents support their child’s emotion regulation development through Project ImPACT. These tips offer practical ways to embed emotion regulation supports as you teach the F.A.C.T.S.
- 👀 Focus on your child – Support parents in attending to their child’s emotional state, joining calmly during dysregulation, and mirroring emotional expressions to promote co-regulation.
- 💬 Adjust your communication – Guide parents to use quieter voices, reduce language, and increase gestures or visuals. Help them label emotions simply and clearly when their child is upset.
- 🎈 Create opportunities – Help parents use playful interruptions to teach protesting (“no”) and create communicative temptations that encourage asking for help before frustration builds.
- 📘 Teach new skills – Support parents in teaching ways for their child to communicate needs (especially requests and protests), increase support during challenging times, and practice these skills when the child is calm.
- 🔁 Shape the interaction – Encourage parents to reduce demands and adjust activities in response to signs of frustration. Support them in re-engaging their child through shared interests and emotionally attuned prompts that maintain connection and responsiveness.
Clinician Q&A: When should I consider referring a family to another provider for additional support?
Referral may be appropriate if a child’s behavior is consistently unsafe, if dysregulation disrupts engagement over time, or if a parent feels overwhelmed despite using Project ImPACT strategies. You’re not stepping away—you’re expanding their support network. Trust your judgment when concerns extend beyond your role, such as developmental or mental health needs, persistent behaviors unresponsive to coaching, or signs of trauma or family stress. Collaborate with caregivers to identify the right specialist, like a behavioral psychologist or developmental pediatrician. Frame the referral as an opportunity to deepen support—while continuing to reinforce emotion regulation and social communication within your scope.
Announcements
Upcoming: Project ImPACT Virtual Advanced Course
Our next available Advanced Course will be offered December 8-11 from 9:00-12:30 PST/12:00-3:30 EST. This course is open to providers who work with young children with social communication delays.