Parental Views of Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, the infection caused by the novel coronavirus detected in December 2019 by World Health Organization (WHO), has detrimentally impacted human life in a variety of areas. Many concepts including outbreak, pandemic, and quarantine have been an inseparable part of our lives. This kind of dialectic change naturally affects persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental disorders (DD) and their families. The present study using a mixed-method evaluation aims to reveal the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the family functioning of children specifically with ASD in Turkey. This study promises a holistic understanding of how the lockdown depending on the COVID -19 pandemic affects families and their children with ASD with positive and negative sides.

The Behavioural Outcomes of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities as Perceived by Parents during the COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Similar to previous findings [11,15], parents reported negative effects such as unmet educational and behavioural needs along with feelings of social isolation for their children. However, contrary to this, Meral [16] reported positive outcomes for children and their families including perceived improvements in verbal behaviour and self-care skills. Parents also perceived low levels of family distress, with feelings of happiness and satisfaction with quality of life [16].…”

“…However, contrary to this, Meral [16] reported positive outcomes for children and their families including perceived improvements in verbal behaviour and self-care skills. Parents also perceived low levels of family distress, with feelings of happiness and satisfaction with quality of life [16]. These findings were similar to Di Renzo et al [11] o also reported mixed outcomes for children and their families during the pandemic.…”

“…Nonetheless, it will be important to examine test-retest reliability of these measures for future use of the questionnaire. Finally, although this study has highlighted the negative outcomes for children and their families during COVID-19, it is important to consider the alternate positive findings in the literature [11,16]. Future research should aim to include measures of both positive and negative outcomes for children with IDDs and their families as we strive to understand the full impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.…”

“…Authors reported that individuals with pre-existing behaviour problems were 2.16 times more likely to exhibit more intense, frequent behaviour problems than those without pre-existing problems [15]. Meral [16] collected both qualitative and quantitative data from parents of children with IDD's during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Similar to previous findings [11,15], parents reported negative effects such as unmet educational and behavioural needs along with feelings of social isolation for their children.…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in Malaysia: An Examination of the Psychological Well-Being of Parent-Child Dyads and Child Behavior in Families With Children on the Autism Spectrum

“…This is supported by research that has found that caregivers of children with NDDs (including children on the autism spectrum) reported worsening of mental health as well as a heightened level of stress due to the pandemic (13,28,68). Based on the limited qualitative and mixed method research conducted among children on the autism spectrum and their families during the pandemic, including in the project's preliminary qualitative interview analysis, the inability to leave the house and the lack of personal space (e.g., "me time") were some of the common themes that have been mentioned by majority of the caregivers interviewed (54,55,67). However, the level of anxiety did not elevate significantly for these parents during the lockdown.…”