To understand the perspectives and needs of autistic children and their families in the context of an emergency, 109 parents and 56 autistic children (5.75–18 years) from Canada completed an online survey about needs, barriers and facilitators to coping with the pandemic. Parents’ concerns about their child’s development and difficulties managing their child’s behaviors before and during pandemic were significantly associated. Parents identified maintaining social relationships and implementing appropriate interventions to their child’s characteristics as facilitators during the pandemic. Both children and parents identified lack of socialization as a main difficulty. Among children, 92.9% associated electronic devices with their well-being. This study highlighted the need to consider the child’s autistic characteristics and interests to implement emergency accommodations and services.
Cette étude porte sur le figement et sa relation avec l’inhibition comportementale, ainsi que sa capacité de prédiction de l’adaptabilité de l’enfant. De plus, l’étude vise à documenter la contribution génétique au figement chez le jeune enfant à l’aide de la méthode de jumeaux. Le projet s’inscrit dans l’Étude longitudinale des Jumeaux Nouveau-nés du Québec (ÉJNQ). Cinq cent six jumeaux de 19.6 mois ont été observés dans une situation de nouveauté dans laquelle l’inhibition comportementale et le figement ont été observés et codifiés. Le trait d’adaptabilité de l’enfant, une dimension du tempérament difficile, a été évalué par la mère auprès de 1130 enfants. Les résultats montrent que le figement et les comportements d’évitement sont modérément associés. Le figement n’a pas de contribution unique à la prédiction de l’adaptabilité au-delà de l’inhibition comportementale. Enfin, l’hypothèse stipulant que la génétique ait une contribution au figement est confirmée. Ces résultats indiquent que le figement et l’inhibition comportementale partagent des caractéristiques communes. Cette étude ouvre la voie à une meilleure compréhension des sources génétiques du figement chez l’humain.
Background. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded during Spring 2020, families experienced multiple upheavals, including lockdown, school closures and ruptures in professional services. We wanted to better understand the experience of autistic children and their families in times of crisis. Methods. 109 parents of autistic children (2.6–18 years) and 56 autistic children (5.75–18 years) from Quebec (Canada) completed an online survey about needs, barriers and facilitators to coping with the pandemic. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA, chi-squares and open-ended questions with thematic analysis. Results. Half of the parents and children considered the pandemic to be a stressful time. Parents who expressed concerns about their child’s development and difficulty managing their child’s behaviors during the pandemic were significantly more likely than other parents to report these concerns before the pandemic, along with the following challenges during the pandemic: social isolation, having to pursue academic goals, feeling powerless over their child’s behaviors and no routine during the pandemic (all p < 0.05). Maintaining social relationships and implementing appropriate strategies, such as a routine, were identified as facilitators by both parents and children. Among children, 92.9% associated technologies with their well-being, but many parents saw too much access to electronics by their child as a barrier, suggesting a need to better understand and use autistic interests. Conclusion. Both autistic children and their parents identified social isolation as one of the main difficulties during the pandemic. We also need to consider autistic characteristics and children’s interests to implement emergency accommodations and services.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.