The Effect of COVID 19 Pandemic on the Participation of Children with Special Needs

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to investigate the environmental factors such as supports and barriers that have been faced by those children with SLD between the before and after COVID-19 lockdown and their involvement, participation frequency and desire for change. The participation features as well as the environmental factors at home, school and community settings of these children (n: 61; mean age: 9.37 ± 1.50 year)during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were assessed by using the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY) instrument via Internet access. The differences in participation frequency, involvement, desire for change, and environmental factors (supports and barriers) for school and community settings between the pre and post COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were found to be p < 0.01. There were no statistical differences at home settings in terms of participation frequency and supports (p > 0.05). This study provides information about the participation levels of children with special needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the environmental factors faced by these children. The results are expected to contribute to the rehabilitation program that may improve the participation levels of children with special needs, and determine where greater efforts are needed to support so as to raise their participation levels and improve environmental features after the quarantine process.