Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families have represented a fragile population on which the extreme circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak may have doubly impaired. Interruption of therapeutical interventions delivered in-person and routine disruption constituted some of the main challenges they had to face. This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on adaptive functioning, behavioral problems, and repetitive behaviors of children with ASD. In a sample of 85 Italian ASD children (mean age 7 years old; 68 males, 17 females), through a comparison with a baseline evaluation performed during the months preceding COVID-19, we evaluated whether after the compulsory home confinement any improvement or worsening was reported by parents of ASD individuals using standardized instruments (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (Second Edition), Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised). No significant worsening in the adaptive functioning, problematic, and repetitive behaviors emerged after the compulsory home confinement. Within the schooler children, clinical stability was found in reference to both adaptive skills and behavioral aspects, whereas within preschoolers, a significant improvement in adaptive skills emerged and was related to the subsistence of web-delivered intervention, parental work continuance, and online support during the lockdown.
Highlights
Given the finding of a significant improvement in adaptive skills among the preschooler participants, we evaluated if child variables and parental variables were related to the improvement observed at T1 (Table 3)
We found that participants whose parents underwent online parental support during the lockdown, had a significant improvement in the mean practical adaptive domain (PAD = 5.37 ± 5.44; p = 0.027) (Table 3), as opposed to the individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) whose parents did not receive such support (PAD = 11 ± 26; p = 1.1)
We investigated the possible impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the adaptive functioning, and the problematic and repetitive behaviors of a sample of ASD
Summary
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread around the world from December. COVID-19 severely impacted the health and the wellbeing of citizens and countries worldwide and determined a correlative impairment of finances and economics with a consequent derangement of everyday life’s scheduling. At the beginning of the pandemic, Italy represented one of the most affected by the virus among European countries. In order to reduce the spreading of the infection, the Italian government imposed home-confinement for all residents from 9 March 2020 to 4 May 2020. Home exiting was permitted only for indispensable and critical needs (i.e., hospital, supermarket, shops for personal care and hygiene). After 4 May 2020, in the re-opening phase, citizens were allowed to leave their homes, but they had to observe social distancing and wear safety devices to reduce the risk of infection
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