Children on the autism spectrum, often at odds with their own emotions, may find help in an unlikely place: their own inner voice. A team from the University of Pittsburgh and collaborators tested a novel intervention designed to train autistic children in developing internal speech—and the results suggest it may reduce emotional dysregulation.
Emotional outbursts and difficulty with self-control can disrupt the lives of many autistic children and their families. Traditional therapies rarely focus on the language children use with themselves, the internal dialogue that helps regulate emotion and behavior in neurotypical development.
Prior research has shown inner speech supports problem-solving and self-regulation, yet many autistic individuals seem to lack this internal toolset.