Participation of Children With Autism During COVID-19: The Role of Maternal Participation.

BACKGROUND

Little is known about participation during adverse times.

OBJECTIVES

This study described participation of children with autism aged 6 to 13 during COVID-19 pandemic and examined the extent to which child factors, mother's own participation, and environmental barriers/supports explain child participation in home and community.

METHOD

A total of 130 mothers completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth, the Health Promoting Activities Scale, functional issues checklist, and sociodemographic questionnaire.

RESULTS

Children's participation frequency and involvement were significantly higher at home than in the community. In both settings, mothers desired change in 71% of activities. Multiple regression models indicated that child's age and mother's participation frequency significantly explained child's home involvement ( = 21%), where mother's participation (frequency) had a unique contribution (Δ = 10.4%) at home but not in the community.

CONCLUSION

Findings imply the importance of maternal participation to child's participation at home and suggest redirecting attention for enhancing family participation as a whole.