Parents' perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 and school transition on autistic children's friendships.
Laura Fox, Kathryn Asbury, Aimee Code and 1 others
PMID 36065837WHAT IT FOUND
Parents reported that autistic children who moved to a new school with existing friends or to a setting with staggered starts and reduced crowds experienced smoother transitions.
Children without these supports often struggled with isolation or peer difficulties during the pandemic.
Key findings
01Transitioning to a new school with an existing friendship group was perceived by parents as a key factor in making the move easier and more successful.
02Social distancing measures, such as staggered starts and remaining in one classroom, were viewed by some parents as beneficial because they reduced the sensory and social overwhelm of large groups.
03Parents noted that some autistic children did not want to make new friends after transitioning, preferring to maintain contact with existing peers through digital means or simply playing alone.
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 study relies entirely on parental perception, as the autistic children themselves were not interviewed. The sample was small (14 participants) and recruited from parents who had previously agreed to be contacted for studies, which may introduce selection bias. Socioeconomic status and educational attainment levels were not recorded, limiting the ability to control for these factors. The wide age range of the children (7 to 18 years) and the specific mix of school transitions (e.g., secondary to special school) make it difficult to generalize findings across all autistic children.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was partly funded by the Wellcome Trust through the Centre for Future Health at the University of York.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the benefits of social distancing measures as evidence that isolation is generally therapeutic for autistic children. The positive effects were linked to specific structural changes like reduced crowd sizes and predictable routines, while many children still experienced distress from losing peer contact.