The Impact of the First Covıd-19 Lockdown in Turkey on Autism Symptom Severity: A Longitudinal Study of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to analyze the effect of Covid-19 lockdown period on autism symptom severity in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and to analyze the factors affecting ASD severity in this period. Materials and Methods: 42 children with ASD, aged between 3 and 6 years (mean = 4.69±1.09), 34 (81%) boys and 8 (19%) girls, who were regularly followed up at Adana City Training and Research Hospital, were included in this study. Children were assessed before and after the first lockdown imposed in Turkey. In this study, longitudinal research method was used. As a data collection tool, a 33-item personal information form was filled out during a face-to-face interview with the parents. To determine the severity of ASD, the "Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)" was used face to face in a clinical setting. The data obtained were assessed by means of SPSS Version 25.0. Windows package program. Findings: According to the results of this study, post-lockdown autism severity was significantly higher than pre-lockdown autism severity (p<.001). Additionally, there was a positive and significant correlation between screen time and ASD symptom severity (p<.001). When the factors affecting ASD severity during the lockdown period were analyzed, it was found that the post-lockdown autism severity was significantly higher than the pre-lockdown autism severity in children who did not receive special education, whose routines changed, screen time, sleep, nutritional and behavioral problems increased. Furthermore, it shows that the severity of ASD in the lockdown period shows a significant differentiation between the groups in terms of the house where the children live and the monthly income of the family, the mother's educational status, and the person taking care of the child (p < .05). However, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of number of siblings, number of people living together, age of parents, educational status of the father and medication disruptions (p> .05). Result: It was determined that children with ASD had higher ASD severity after the lockdown compared to before the lockdown in the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, significant factors affecting the severity of ASD were identified within the scope of this study.