Experience of Autistic Children and Their Families During the Pandemic: From Distress to Coping Strategies.
Claudine Jacques, Geneviève Saulnier, Agnès Éthier and 1 others
PMID 34448994WHAT IT FOUND
Most parents and many autistic children found the pandemic stressful.
Parents reported routines, understanding needs, and social contact helped; lost services, isolation, and school demands hindered. Children valued electronics, while parents often saw too much access as a barrier.
Key findings
0193.5% of parents considered the pandemic a highly stressful period, and 91.7% identified high pandemic-related stress in their family.
02Parents most often endorsed understanding needs, routines, communication, and time together as helpful, and too much electronics, isolation, and school demands as barriers.
03Among children, 92.9% said electronics made them feel good, and 57.1% identified lack of socialization as a barrier.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, especially preschool children, so age-specific needs could not be analysed separately. Participants were recruited through autism associations and social networks in Quebec, mostly French-speaking, and the authors say the sample was not representative of more vulnerable families. The questionnaire was created for the study and not validated; autism diagnoses were not formally verified, and diagnosis specifiers or comorbidities were not collected. Many findings are self-reported experiences and themes, not measured effects of therapy; correlations do not show that any factor caused stress or coping. Some children completed the questionnaire with parental help, which may affect how directly their own views are represented.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat routines, electronics, or service recommendations as proven treatments for autistic children during a crisis. This survey described what families reported and recommended; it did not test whether any strategy reduced stress, and the sample was small and not representative.