Researchers have suggested that individuals with autism have difficulties with self-regulation in early infancy, which may represent an early risk factor for autism. In this study, the authors explored self-regulatory behavior in young children who were later diagnosed with autism. Parents of children diagnosed with autism (n = 65) retrospectively reported on their children's self-regulatory difficulties at 1 year of age using the Temperament and Atypical Behavior Scale (TABS). One-year-olds with typical development (n = 120) from the TABS norming efforts served as the comparison group. Results indicate children diagnosed with autism exhibited significantly more self-regulatory difficulties at 1 year of age than did the comparison group. In addition, 86% of the parents reported that their children exhibited self-regulatory difficulties consistent with a diagnosis of regulatory disorder at 1 year of age.
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