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Implications of Covid-19 Pandemic on School-age children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

I. Farmakopoulou ,
C. Efstratiou ,
A. Dokos ,
E. Lepsinioti  and
M. Theodoratou
I. Farmakopoulou
Affiliation:
University of Patras, Humanistic Sciences, Patras, Greece
C. Efstratiou
Affiliation:
University of Patras, Humanistic Sciences, Rio, Patras, Greece
A. Dokos
Affiliation:
Hellenic Open University, Human Sciences, Patras, Greece
E. Lepsinioti
Affiliation:
Hellenic Open University, Human Sciences, Patras, Greece
M. Theodoratou*
Affiliation:
Hellenic Open University, Human Sciences, PAtras, Greece Neapolis University of Pafos, Health Sciences, Pafos, Cyprus
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused multilevel changes worldwide. Everyday life of all people has been altered drastically. Children with ASD seem to face difficulties due to their heightened sensitivity to unpredictable and complex changes in their lifestyle. Our presentation aims to reveal the effects of Covid-19 on school-age children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Objectives

The main thematic areas of this research, concerning the social workers’ questionnaire, focused on the routine, psycho-emotional field, school performance, sociability and school environment of children with ASD.

Methods

Between June 22nd and August 16th, 2021, social workers (n=38) and parents (n=25) administrated a questionnaire -through google form platform- which investigated issues around routine, psycho-emotional field, school performance, sociability, school, and family. Descriptive statistics were used for statistical analysis of the data.

Results

The routine and psycho-emotional conditions of children with ASD were found to have a negative shift. Moreover, the degree of change on school performance was moderate, while sociability change was minimal. The significance of the school’s contribution and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the family functionality was highly observed. Another interesting finding was that children with ASD did not display discomfort for the mandatory social limitations or fear for the virus transmission.

Conclusions

Lastly, it is important to implement appropriate practices for the protection of children with ASD, through the mobilization of the responsible parties and thus, social policy transformations are vital for this vulnerable population.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

covid-19 pandemicFamilyAutism spectrum disorder (ASD)school- aged children
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S296 - S297
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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