Disorder in ADHD and ASD Post-COVID-19

Abstract

A diagnosis of either attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) identifies an individual as unable to attend expectedly and appropriately, particularly in school settings. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, what defined the expected and the appropriate was considerate, close physical contact among people. In understanding that aerosol droplets from vocalization cause the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, what is acceptable contact has now shifted to distancing oneself from people and communicating in a way that eliminates vocal spray. The norms for socialization diametrically changed as a consequence of the pandemic. Yet, there has been no concurrent reassessment of the meaning of “disorder” related to ADHD and ASD within the school setting. A diagnosis of ADHD and/or ASD often brings with it an expectation for special education. Therefore, it is important that changes in social norms be recognized as they define the meaning of “disorder”. Investigated here is in what way each diagnosis demonstrates disorder in response to the imposed COVID-19 restrictions and how this can be anticipated to affect the schooling of those with ADHD and ASD during the pandemic.

A Framework for European Thought on Psychology, Education, and Health Based on Foucault’s The Order of Things

“…However, it is not that the book presented these ideas for the first time to the author. Rather, it was in conducting narrative research on The Order of Things that the author was then conceptually able to bring together various work done over the course of a research career (Nash 2020a(Nash , 2020b(Nash , 2021a(Nash , 2021b(Nash , 2021c. The framework of Foucault developed in The Order of Things then provided a method for making the foundation of this research entirely public and potentially accessible to other researchers by creating tables that display this framework in a way that is visually and theoretically evident.…”

“…ASD and ADHD (Nash 2021b) are evident as health concerns in educational settings where learning to discriminate and attend to finely divided details is important; to this extent, they arise as health concerns when people are required to make fine discriminations as they would in the Classical period. Self-directed learning avoids the health issues evident in educational settings that focus on evaluating learners in relation to answering true and false questions (Steiner et al 2020).…”

Features of Mobile Apps for People with Autism in a Post COVID-19 Scenario: Current Status and Recommendations for Apps Using AI

“…Moreover, having scheduled social contact with a trained autism specialist helps pupils with autism earn life skills targeted, yielding increased independence at home, at school and in the community [4]. Despite these practices, the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States, indicate that 1 out of 68 children are diagnosed with ASD, out of which 20-30% could not communicate their needs, wishes and thoughts [5].…”

“…A deficit of appropriate work opportunities and career guidance affect young people with ASD and subsequently leads to unemployment. These figures have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic [4].…”