Experience of Autistic Children and Their Families During the Pandemic: From Distress to Coping Strategies

Abstract

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.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Autism Spectrum Disorder, Consequences to Children and Adolescents — a Systematic Review

“…Considering overall activities, one article found a significantly higher engagement in activities prior to the pandemic (Garcia et al, 2021 ), which is in contrast with two papers that observed an increase in overall activity duration (43.3%) (Mete Yesil et al, 2022 ), and more involvement in activities during the pandemic (Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2021 ). Free time also increased for 47.71 to 78.1% of respondents (Colizzi et al, 2020 ; Jacques et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Concerning the period of the COVID-19 pandemic studied, 10 articles (38%) compared before with during the pandemic (Bhat, 2021 ; Cardy et al, 2021 ; Colizzi et al, 2020 ; Garcia et al, 2021 ; Hosokawa et al, 2021 ; Jacques et al, 2022 ; Kawabe et al, 2020 ; Mete Yesil et al, 2022 ; Mutluer et al, 2020 ; Vasa et al, 2021 ), 12 (47%) defined specific pandemic periods (e.g., before versus during quarantine, confinement, or lockdown) (Amorim et al, 2020 ; Berard et al, 2021 ; Bruni et al, 2021 , 2022 ; Levante et al, 2021 ; Lugo-Marín et al, 2021 ; Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2021 ; Tokatly Latzer et al, 2021 ; Türkoğlu et al, 2020 ), while the final four (15%) compared different pandemic moments.…”

“…Of the 26 papers added in this work, 10 addressed the routines of children/adolescents with ASD during the pandemic (Amorim et al, 2020 ; Colizzi et al, 2020 ; Garcia et al, 2021 ; Hosokawa et al, 2021 ; Jacques et al, 2022 ; Mete Yesil et al, 2022 ; Morris et al, 2021 ; Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2021 ; Tokatly Latzer et al, 2021 ; Türkoğlu et al, 2020 ). A medium level of evidence was reached in two papers, Colizzi et al, 2020 and Hosokawa et al, 2021 .…”

“…A medium level of evidence was reached in two papers, Colizzi et al, 2020 and Hosokawa et al, 2021 . A change in routine was described in eight articles (Amorim et al, 2020 ; Colizzi et al, 2020 ; Garcia et al, 2021 ; Hosokawa et al, 2021 ; Jacques et al, 2022 ; Mete Yesil et al, 2022 ; Morris et al, 2021 ; Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2021 ), and was considered positive in two, since families had more time to spend together (Jacques et al, 2022 ; Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2021 ), but also negative, due to a general worsening in routine according to 77.4% of respondents (Jacques et al, 2022 ) and, as indicated by 55% of respondents, being isolated from loved ones (Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2021 ).…”

Parents as Nomads: Journeys, In-Betweenness and Identity

“…This paper will outline current issues relating to context and policy of Early Intervention in Ireland. It will explore themes in the literature relative to the challenges encountered lacked socialization as a key factor during public health restrictions enforced during the pandemic [10]. Healthcare providers and institutions were challenged in providing services for children with autism and their families.…”