The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of caregivers of autistic children and youth: A scoping review.
Vivian Lee, Carly Albaum, Paula Tablon Modica and 11 others
PMID 34591373WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of autistic children reported severe stress from lost therapies and school closures.
Parents managed by creating new routines and connecting online. Telehealth helped some families but failed those with limited access or complex needs. The review found no evidence that these remote adaptations actually improved child or parent outcomes.
Key findings
01School and service closures forced parents to take on therapist and teacher roles, leading to high rates of distress, financial strain, and feeling unprepared.
02Remote services and telehealth were inconsistently accessible and often unsuitable for children with complex needs or limited verbal abilities.
03Adapted online interventions were not systematically tested for effectiveness, meaning their actual clinical benefit remains unknown.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Most included studies were from the first wave of the pandemic, so findings may not reflect later adaptations. The review included many non-empirical sources like editorials and gray literature, which lowers the overall quality of evidence. Participants were predominantly mothers, limiting understanding of the experiences of fathers and other caregivers. The literature was restricted to English-language publications. No included study measured the actual effectiveness of the remote services implemented during the pandemic.
Declared interests
Funding came from York University, McMaster University, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The authors declared no specific conflicts of interest related to commercial entities.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the widespread adoption of telehealth during the pandemic as proof that it works. The review explicitly states that these adaptations were not tested for effectiveness, and access was highly unequal.