Impacts of social distancing during the covid19 pandemic on the development of children with autism in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and its main symptoms are fever, dry cough and difficulty breathing. It spread to several countries, which led the World Health Organization to decree, on March 11, 2020, a pandemic state that deeply affected Brazil. Due to the impossibility of leaving the house, the routine of children with autism was changed. Children in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a qualitative deficit in social interaction. Clinical and daily observations reinforce several scientific studies that defend the importance of maintaining a routine as stable as possible for people with ASD, without this stability they may become emotionally disorganized, feel discomfort or even irritability. Objectives Investigate the impact caused by social distancing on the development of children and adolescents with autism. Methods An online questionnaire based on the DIR/Floortime basic map of emotional functional capacity development was distributed in Brazil from April to May, 2020. The results were analyzed using SPSS software. Results Results obtained from 122 questionnaires showed that after 30 days of quarantine 20% of children no longer had the characteristic of being able to remain calm and organized for at least 2 minutes; 11% no longer initiates interactions with their parents; 27% demonstrated more protests and anger than before the social distancing; 18% demonstrated more emotions such as anger, fear and intimacy, 28% began to understand their limits and 12% of the children are using greater facial expression during the social distancing. Conclusions This study brings results that can help to understand the processes in a child with autism.

Keywords

• autism
• Development
• social distancing
• COVID19