Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children with Disabilities and Their Families

Abstract

The current study aims to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Egypt. It also focuses on the perceptions of their parents and the difficulties they faced during the pandemic. The study focused on collecting data from four to ten-year-old autistic children and their families, who frequently attended a day-care center in Cairo, Egypt. qualitative ethnographic method design was used in the study, with qualitative data collected from 20 families using semi-structured interviews. The Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABAS-11) was applied and analyzed using content analysis. The findings showed the pandemic had a negative impact on the psychological and behavioral aspects of children with ASD, as well as a negative psychological impact on their families. It calls for the continued need for parents and their children for counseling, guidance, and psychological support. This negative impact on families was because of the parents’ lack of knowledge of the characteristics of their child with a disability. The study concluded that it is necessary to train parents on how to deal well with their children with disabilities, an outcome of this study, the researcher launched an initiative called ‘The Specialized Mother Initiative’ and has invited over 50 Egyptian institutions working with children with disabilities in over 15 governorates. Its aim is to train Egyptian families on the scientific method of dealing with their children with disabilities, and in particular, children with autism.