The impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families in Tripoli, Libya

Abstract

Introduction: During COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing becomes compulsory for all, a nation-wide school closure was implemented. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on children with ASD and their families in Tripoli, Libya. Materials and Methods: We conducted face-to-face interviews with parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) during the period of the outbreak between June to December 2020. The Modified Check list of Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was used to evaluate patients. Results: 250 children diagnosed of ASD were included. The prevalence of aggressive behaviour had increased by 47% that of loss of communication is 33%, that of poor interaction is 52% and that of anxiety among families is 27%, although rates were lower among girls. .60% of Young children aged between 5 to 10 years exhibit increased stereotyped behaviour, attachment to certain TV programs and other electronic devices (such as tablet, smartphone) more often and for longer periods of the day, temper tantrums, and crying and screaming for no obvious reasons as well as difficulty sleeping alone and frequent awakenings. 10% of children complained of psychosomatic symptoms, such as tummy pains, and diarrhoea. 16% of Adolescents had been found to have significantly higher rates of aggressive and antisocial behaviour when trying to switch them from one activity to another. Conclusions: Children with existing behavioural problems and those with ASD in particular had faced additional social and educational challenges during their special education years and had experienced the most negative consequences of living in a stressful situation like home lockdown, and are therefore had been particularly hard hit. COVD-19 pandemic was a neglected medical cause of deteriorating child behaviour, and the acute and chronic effects of this pandemic on these children’s health and education are among the greatest child harms of the 21st century.