Background

Containment and mitigation measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have had a severe impact on everyone's lives. This study focused on the effects of these measures on the behaviors of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) included in the ELENA cohort, as well as on the levels of anxiety and depression of their parents.

Objectives

The main objective of this study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the behavior (sleep, eating, communication skills, and stereotyped and challenging behaviors), living conditions, and care of children with ASD, as well as the psychological state of their parents.

The secondary objectives were to:

• identify factors that explain the improvement or worsening of children's behavior
• compare mothers’ and fathers’ anxiety and depression levels during containment
• identify risk factors for parental anxiety and depression during containment

Methods

During the first period of COVID-19 containment (May 2020), an online survey was proposed to families participating in the ELENA cohort. The purpose of this survey was to describe the families’ living conditions, children’s behavior, and continuity of interventions. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess the anxiety-depressive state of the parents. The clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of the children and their parents were retrieved from the ELENA cohort follow-up.

For more information :

ELENA COVID file


Partners

This project, founded by the Autism Resource Center of Montpellier University Hospital, is coordinated by Pr. Amaria Baghdadli. It benefits from the financial support of the DGOS and CNSA. Additional financial support was provided by the Montpellier University Hospital (AOI).

Crédit photo : ©PxHere