The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Educational Process of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Effects on the Parental Quality of Life

Abstract

Background: After the pandemic period, the daily routines changed, and this caused a significant decrease in families’ quality of life. We aimed to show how the pandemic period and closure of educational institutions influenced children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families’ quality of life. Method: The study is a descriptive type of research. The study population consists of families of children aged between 3 and 16 diagnosed with ASD who attended special education and rehabilitation centers and educational practice schools in Trabzon for at least 6 months before the pandemic, registered with the Trabzon Autism Association, and were followed at the Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Pediatric Neurology Polyclinic. Families were asked to complete the questionnaire we designed. The data was collected face-to-face prospectively. The questionnaire consisted of six parts: sociodemographic and personal characteristics of children and parents; education problems during the pandemic period; the effect of daily routines during the pandemic period on both children and families; the Quality of Life in Autism Questionnaire-Parent Version; and the Parental Burnout Scale. Results: We contacted 169 parents. Mothers were more likely than fathers to complete the questionnaire (73.1% vs. 26.9%). School attendance decreased by 11.9%, while regular education availability fell by 8.1%. The pandemic has caused changes in the daily routines of families and children in many areas of life, such as decreased physical activity, changes in sleep duration and time, and deterioration in regular eating habits (p = 0.035; 0.001; 0.004; 0.001, respectively). The QoL of parents whose daily schedules changed decreased as a result. Our study found that their levels of burnout significantly increased, and the PBS total score and the QoLA scores had a moderately significant correlation (rs = 0.411, p<0.001). Conclusions: In this study, we showed that the COVID-19 epidemic negatively affected the education process of children with ASD. In order to improve the QoL of families and reduce burnout levels, we suggest providing additional service opportunities (parks, playgrounds, hobby centers, etc.) and special psychiatric services for children with ASD during pandemic periods.