TY - JOUR
T1 - Brief Report
T2 - Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with ASD and Their Caregivers: A Perspective from the SPARK Cohort
AU - the SPARK Consortium
AU - White, L. Casey
AU - Law, J. Kiely
AU - Daniels, Amy M.
AU - Toroney, Jaimie
AU - Vernoia, Brianna
AU - Xiao, Sabrina
AU - Feliciano, Pamela
AU - Chung, Wendy K.
AU - Abbeduto, Leonard
AU - Aberbach, Gabriella
AU - Aberle, Shelley
AU - Acampado, John
AU - Ace, Andy
AU - Ahlers, Kaitlyn
AU - Albright, Charles
AU - Alessandri, Michael
AU - Alvarez, Nicolas
AU - Amaral, David
AU - Amatya, Alpha
AU - Andrus, Alicia
AU - Anglo, Claudine
AU - Annett, Rob
AU - Arzate, Eduardo
AU - Astrovskaya, Irina
AU - Baalman, Kelli
AU - Baer, Melissa
AU - Baraghoshi, Gabriele
AU - Bardett, Nicole
AU - Barnes, Sarah
AU - Bashar, Asif
AU - Bates, Heidi
AU - Beard, Katie
AU - Becerra, Juana
AU - Beckwith, Malia
AU - Beeson, Landon
AU - Beeson, Josh
AU - Bell, Brandi
AU - Belli, Monica
AU - Bentley, Dawn
AU - Berger, Natalie
AU - Berman, Anna
AU - Bernier, Raphael
AU - Berry-Kravis, Elizabeth
AU - Berwanger, Mary
AU - Birdwell, Shelby
AU - Blank, Elizabeth
AU - Booker, Stephanie
AU - Bordofsky, Aniela
AU - Shulman, Lisa
AU - Valicenti-Mcdermott, Maria
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - The impact of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in the United States is unprecedented, with unknown implications for the autism community. We surveyed 3502 parents/caregivers of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) and found that most individuals with ASD experienced significant, ongoing disruptions to therapies. While some services were adapted to telehealth format, most participants were not receiving such services at follow-up, and those who were reported minimal benefit. Children under age five had the most severely disrupted services and lowest reported benefit of telehealth adaptation. Caregivers also reported worsening ASD symptoms and moderate family distress. Strategies to support the ASD community should be immediately developed and implemented.
AB - The impact of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in the United States is unprecedented, with unknown implications for the autism community. We surveyed 3502 parents/caregivers of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) and found that most individuals with ASD experienced significant, ongoing disruptions to therapies. While some services were adapted to telehealth format, most participants were not receiving such services at follow-up, and those who were reported minimal benefit. Children under age five had the most severely disrupted services and lowest reported benefit of telehealth adaptation. Caregivers also reported worsening ASD symptoms and moderate family distress. Strategies to support the ASD community should be immediately developed and implemented.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - COVID-19
KW - Services
KW - Stress
KW - Telehealth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098538801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85098538801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10803-020-04816-6
DO - 10.1007/s10803-020-04816-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 33387233
AN - SCOPUS:85098538801
SN - 0162-3257
VL - 51
SP - 3766
EP - 3773
JO - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
JF - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
IS - 10
ER -