Impact of containment and mitigation measures on children and youth with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic: Report from the ELENA cohort.
J Psychiatr Res
; 137: 73-80, 2021 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1096127
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Containment, involving separation and restriction of movement of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and mitigation, also referred to as lockdown, involving closure of schools, universities and public venues, has had a profound impact on people's lives globally. The study focuses on the effects of containment and mitigation measures, on the behavior of children and youth (CaY) with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The study primary aim was to examine the impact of these urgent measures on the behaviors, communication, sleep, and nutritional status of the CaY. A secondary aim was to explore risk and protective factors on behavior change including sociodemographic variables, living conditions, ASD symptom severity and continuity of interventions.METHODS:
The study sample consisted of 239 ASD subjects, 2-21 years of age, enrolled in the ELENA cohort in France at Stage 3 confinement and mitigation measures announced on March 16, 2020. A parent informant completed the COVID-19 questionnaire.RESULTS:
Of the domains examined, challenging behaviors, communicative skills and sleep had the greatest impact; in terms of risk and protective factors, subject age, ASD severity, single parenthood, daily living skills, and intervention continuity were most likely to impact behaviors; living conditions were not linked to behavior change.CONCLUSIONS:
The findings highlight the topography of behavioral change in CaY with ASD following institution of containment and mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and help identify risk and protective factors to help better address needs and tailor interventions in the future.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Communicable Disease Control
/
Pandemics
/
Autism Spectrum Disorder
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Etiology study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Psychiatr Res
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.jpsychires.2021.02.041
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