Brief Report: Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with ASD and Their Caregivers: A Perspective from the SPARK Cohort

• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04816-6
• Publication Date: 2021-01-02T05:02:41Z
• Authors: L. Casey White; J. Kiely Law; Amy M. Daniels; Jaimie Toroney; Brianna Vernoia; Sabrina Xiao; ; Pamela Feliciano; Wendy K. Chung
• Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autism; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD); Services; Developmental & Child Psychology; Stress; Education; 7.1 Individual care needs; Clinical Research; Behavioral and Social Science; SPARK Consortium; Humans; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Autism spectrum disorder; Autistic Disorder; Child; 360; Pediatric; SARS-CoV-2; Brief Report; Psychology and Cognitive Sciences; 05 social sciences; COVID-19; United States; Brain Disorders; 3. Good health; Mental Health; Telehealth; Caregivers; Mental health; Management of diseases and conditions

AbstractThe impact of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in the United States is unprecedented, with unknown implications for the autism community. We surveyed 3502 parents/caregivers of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) and found that most individuals with ASD experienced significant, ongoing disruptions to therapies. While some services were adapted to telehealth format, most participants were not receiving such services at follow-up, and those who were reported minimal benefit. Children under age five had the most severely disrupted services and lowest reported benefit of telehealth adaptation. Caregivers also reported worsening ASD symptoms and moderate family distress. Strategies to support the ASD community should be immediately developed and implemented.