Amirova Aida, CohenMiller Anna, Sandygulova Anara
Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Department of Robotics and Mechatronics, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 25;13:913902. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.913902. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19-related lockdown interrupted children's learning progress and discontinued social learning and regular activities that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rely on socially and physically. Negative consequences for children with ASD were reported far and wide. To investigate this problem in Kazakhstan, we conducted a mixed-methods study that drew on data from an online survey with 97 parents and semi-structured interviews with 14 parents. While parent-report quantitative results suggest that children were likely to experience negative impacts of the pandemic due to disrupted educational and therapeutic services, qualitative findings confirm that they have experienced an elevated mental health and behavioral challenges during the lockdown. Remote educational and therapeutic services were not helpful as families coped with pandemic-caused problems on their own. We highlight that continued support and care during and after a crisis is vital not only for children with ASD but also for the families under-resourced mentally and socially.
与新冠疫情相关的封锁中断了儿童的学习进程，使自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童所依赖的社交学习和常规活动在社交和身体层面都被迫停止。自闭症谱系障碍儿童受到的负面影响被广泛报道。为了在哈萨克斯坦调查这一问题，我们开展了一项混合方法研究，该研究采用了来自97位家长的在线调查数据以及对14位家长的半结构化访谈数据。虽然家长报告的定量结果表明，由于教育和治疗服务中断，儿童很可能受到疫情的负面影响，但定性研究结果证实，在封锁期间他们面临着更严重的心理健康和行为挑战。由于家庭独自应对疫情引发的问题，远程教育和治疗服务并无帮助。我们强调，在危机期间及之后持续提供支持和关爱不仅对自闭症谱系障碍儿童至关重要，对那些在心理和社会层面资源不足的家庭也至关重要。
