Psychological impact and development of autistic traits in children during the COVID 19 Pandemic: A study through Guardian

Abstract

The COVID 19 pandemic has significantly affected people's lives worldwide. Although children may not experience severe physical symptoms of the disease, their psychological well-being can be greatly affected. The primary objective of this study was to examine the psychological impact of COVID-19 on children residing in the Kashmir valley in terms of evolution of autistic traits in them. Cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 300 family members of children aged between 4 to 16-years. Data was collected through an online questionnaire using Google Forms and purposive sampling technique was used to assess autism. The sample for the study consisted of children in the 4 year to 16-year age group. A self-designed validated questionnaire in Google Form was used to collect the information. Chidhood Autism Rating Scale-2 (CARS-2) was used in those with excessive mobile phone usage. The results of the study revealed that only 3% of the children were infected with COVID-19. 7% of the sample reported that a close family member of a child was infected. Furthermore, 76% of the sample reported that they discussed COVID-19 with their children. In terms of behavioral changes, 54% of the sample noticed a change in their child's behaviour during the COVID pandemic. Additionally, 51% reported a change in their children's learning patterns, and 48% reported that their child had become possessive about new things since the pandemic. Furthermore, 35% of the sample reported a change in their child's sleeping cycle, 22.7% reported a loss of appetite, and 56% reported that their child imagined and talked about COVID-19 with others. It was also found that 80.3% of the sample had adhered to COVID-19 precautions. Only 4.3% reported negative thoughts expressed by their children since the pandemic, while 88% reported that their children were ready to discuss in future COVID-19. In the 4 to 6 year age group, out of 12 children with excessive mobile phone use, it was found that two were having symptoms consistent with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Other common symptoms noticed in this age group were found to be clapping, single verbal sounds, inability to express needs, moderate abnormal listening response, echolalia and video dialoguing. Most families reported that their children were possessive about new things and most of them were not sitting at one place for a long time. A large percentage of families reported that they found changes in the sleep pattern and duration of sleep was more than 9 hours. It was also found that screen time during COVID-19 increased among school-going children.