Di Renzo Magda, Di Castelbianco Federico Bianchi, Vanadia Elena, Petrillo Massimiliano, D'Errico Simona, Racinaro Lidia, Rea Monica
Institute of Ortofonologia, IT.
Contin Educ. 2020 Sep 16;1(1):117-125. doi: 10.5334/cie.20. eCollection 2020.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and reciprocal communication. During a pandemic, when social distancing becomes mandatory for all, both parents and children are not supported in-person by their therapists and cannot participate in usual therapies. This study reports the main clinical changes experienced by parents of children with during the first month of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Using standardized questionnaires, the families of 63 ASD children were interviewed in February and April 2020. Findings showed an increase in restricted and repetitive behaviours in about 30% of the sample; also, motor restlessness and sleep disturbances increased, with greater irritability and mood dysregulation. On the other hand, no changes emerged in personal self-care autonomies, in taste/smell sensitivity, and in auto or other-directed aggression. Despite the undeniable negative impact that lockdown can have on the psychosocial well-being of children, having maintained a continuity in supporting families, parental counselling (even if online and not in-person) helped families to redefine the meanings of behavioural changes of their children and to understand their adaptive functionality.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的特征是社交互动和双向沟通受损。在疫情期间，当所有人都必须保持社交距离时，家长和孩子都无法得到治疗师的现场支持，也无法参加常规治疗。本研究报告了意大利新冠疫情封锁的第一个月期间，自闭症儿童家长所经历的主要临床变化。通过标准化问卷，于2020年2月和4月对63名自闭症儿童的家庭进行了访谈。研究结果显示，约30%的样本中，受限和重复行为有所增加；此外，运动不安和睡眠障碍增加，易怒和情绪失调更为明显。另一方面，个人自我照顾自主性、味觉/嗅觉敏感度以及自我或他人导向的攻击行为没有变化。尽管封锁对儿童的心理社会福祉会产生不可否认的负面影响，但通过持续为家庭提供支持，家长咨询（即使是在线而非现场）帮助家庭重新定义了孩子行为变化的意义，并理解了其适应性功能。
