Build Pathways

August 28, 2007

Steven Gutstein (gutstein@connections center.com) is a psychologist, autism expert, and codirector of Connections Center for Family and Personal Development in Houston.

I work with autistic children, a population typically defined by its lack of emotional intelligence. People with autism can’t connect – indeed, they aren’t really interested in connecting emotionally with others. Traditionally, the therapeutic approach with these kids has been to teach them to fake it. They are urged to make eye contact with others, to repress whatever distracting behaviors they may have, and to use social scripts. Many of these therapies have the appearance of being successful.People with autism do learn the scripts, and some even blend in.

The problem is, faking it never ceases to be work. So as autistic children become adults, they stop putting on the show. Among adults with Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism marked by average or above-average IQ), fewer than 12% hold jobs. Only 3% leave home. These findings make the case profoundly that one gets only so far on IQ. People need to connect emotionally, and with flexibility, in order to succeed.

These findings also demonstrate that traditional therapies have not been successful at improving quality of life for autistic people.

My approach to teaching emotional intelligence skills to children with autism, which I call “relationship development intervention” (RDI), takes a different tack. It begins with a belief that people with autism can be taught to value relationships, to seek out interactions that are not merely transactional (“I will deal with you because there is something I want from you”) but where the whole point is to enjoy the shared

If people with autism can learn emotional intelligence, anyone can.

experience. Nonautistic people begin to have these kinds of relationships early in life; at about ten months, most babies start developing the capacity for social referencing, the appreciation that my actions should take into account your emotions. We now know from neuroimaging that at this stage some critical neural pathways are being laid down among all the structures in the limbic system, which regulates emotion and motivation. Autistic children typically don’t develop those pathways.

But with RDI, which uses cognitive exercises and activities to motivate the children to learn specific behaviors rather than social scripts, I think we can create the neurological traffic to establish those pathways. Mind you, we are not curing autism. But we are teaching emotional intelligence. If people with autism can learn emotional intelligence, anyone can.

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