scholarly journals COVID-19 and Food-Related Outcomes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Disparities by Income and Food Security Status

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita A Panjwani ◽  
Regan L Bailey ◽  
Bridgette L Kelleher
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Preferred Foods ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Background Limited research suggests increased adverse behavioral outcomes, such as distractibility and hyperactivity, among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a result of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19); however, little is known about how the pandemic has impacted food-related behaviors among children with ASD. Objective This study characterizes the impact of the pandemic on access to preferred foods and eating behaviors among children with ASD. Methods Caregiver proxies (n = 200) participated in a cross-sectional, online survey investigating the impact of COVID-19 on reported food and eating behaviors of children, ages 2–17 y. Logistic regression models were used to assess the magnitude of association of a change in the child's eating behaviors and in food availability, overall and by household income and food security status. Results A majority of respondents reported a moderate-to-large impact on their child's eating behaviors (57%) since the onset of COVID-19, and 65% reported unavailability of their child's preferred foods. Increased risk of a moderate-to-large impact on children's eating behaviors was associated with shelter regulations compared with no regulations (OR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.12, 4.72), food insecurity compared with security status (OR: 2.60; 95% CI: 1.45, 4.67), and household income of <$50,000 compared with ≥$100,000 (OR: 2.33; 95% CI: 1.02, 5.29). The pandemic also amplified the risk of food unavailability by household food security status (food insecure vs. secure; OR: 4.13; 95% CI: 2.12, 7.69) and across income levels (<$50,000 vs. ≥$100,000; OR: 3.48; 95% CI: 1.42, 8.55; and $50,000 to <$100,000 vs. ≥$100,000; OR: 4.00; 95% CI: 1.71, 9.34). Reported frequencies of consumption of meat, seafood, vegetables, and 100% fruit juice significantly decreased among the children post-onset of COVID-19, while frequency of consumption of sweets increased. Conclusions A large proportion of caregivers reported substantial COVID-19 impacts on food availability and eating behaviors of children with ASD, especially among low-resource dyads. This study highlights the added burden of existing disparities due to the pandemic on children living with ASD.

Husband’s Social Support for Mother of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
pp. 106648072110050
Author(s):  
Dinie Ratri Desiningrum ◽  
Dewi Retno Suminar ◽  
Endang Retno Surjaningrum ◽  
Suryanto ◽  
Wiwin Hendriani
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: The purpose of the research is to find husband’s social support for mother of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The problem of this study is how the forms of husband’s social support are perceived by mothers of children with ASD, and what are the factors and impacts for mothers perceived about husband’s social support. Method: The research was conducted on family having children with autism aged 5–14 years, employing a qualitative method by interviewing 10 mother participants. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: The analysis resulted in five themes. First, the impact of disability of children with ASD on marriage relationship; second, the role of husband in parenting children with ASD; third, the perception of mother for husband’s social support; fourth, some factors influences to husband social supports; and fifth, the effects of husband’s social support for mother, children with ASD, and family. The discussion and limitations of this study are considered. Applications/Originality/Value: The results of this study are expected to be a reference for scientists, especially in the field of psychology of children with special needs, and can also contribute to the application of science to institutions related to ASD and observers of children with ASD.

Sensory Behaviors in Minimally Verbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: How and When Do Caregivers Respond?

2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Harrop ◽  
Nicole Tu ◽  
Rebecca Landa ◽  
Ann Kasier ◽  
Connie Kasari
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Minimally Verbal Children ◽  
Sensory Behaviors

Abstract Sensory behaviors are widely reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the impact of these behaviors on families remains largely unknown. This study explored how caregivers of minimally verbal children with ASD responded to their child's sensory behaviors. Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined two variables for each endorsed child behavior: (1) Did the caregiver respond/try to change the behavior? and (2) What response did they employ? Caregivers did not differ in the frequency of responses to hypo- or hyper-responsive behaviors but employed different responses. Caregivers responded to more social sensory behaviors and predominately changed their own behavior in response to their child's. Our findings demonstrate how extensively caregivers adapt to their child's behaviors and vary their response dependent on behavior exhibited.

scholarly journals The relationship between 2019-nCoV and psychological distress among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luxi Wang ◽  
Dexin Li ◽  
Shixu Pan ◽  
Jinhe Zhai ◽  
Wei Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives The psychological distress caused by COVID-19 may be pronounced among the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to investigate psychological distress among parents of children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 1764 parents of children with ASD and 4962 parents of typically developing (TD) children were recruited. The participants completed an online survey which contained demographic information, the impact due to COVID-19 crisis, resilience, coping styles, anxiety and depression. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the contributions of these variables to anxiety and depression. Results After adjusting for demographic variables, the following factors were associated with parents’ anxiety and depression symptoms: (i) Whether or not the participants had a child with ASD; (ii) resilience; (iii) coping strategies, and; (iv) the impact due to COVID-19. Among these, the psychological stress caused by COVID-19 played the most important role in parental anxiety (β = 0.353) and depression (β = 0.242) symptoms. Parents of children with ASD had lower levels of resilience and positive coping, and used more negative coping strategies than parents of TD children. Among all participants, 8.0 and 24.2% of parents had symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively. Compared to parents of TD children, more parents of children with ASD exhibited symptoms of anxiety and depression (12.2% vs. 6.6%; 31.0% vs. 21.7%, respectively). Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents experienced varying levels of anxiety and depression, particularly, parents of children with ASD. More specific attention should be paid to parental mental health and long-term effective intervention programs, that are targeted towards parents of children with ASD, and such programs should be promoted around China in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Comparative Language Development in Bilingual and Monolingual Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Lund ◽  
Theresa L. Kohlmeier ◽  
Lillian K. Durán
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact

The prevalence of both bilingual children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing rapidly, and early childhood educators may be increasingly likely to encounter bilingual children with ASD in their classrooms. Because ASD significantly affects communication, many parents and professionals may have questions or concerns about the impact of bilingualism on language development in children with ASD. The present article presents a systematic review of the literature comparing monolingual to bilingual development in children with ASD. Seven articles were included, covering a wide variety of languages and involving predominantly young, simultaneously bilingual children with ASD. Results generally showed small, varied differences in both receptive and expressive language outcomes for bilingual and monolingual children with ASD, thus providing tentative support for the idea that bilingualism does not have a consistent or large negative effect on language development in children with ASD. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

scholarly journals The effect of physical activity interventions on development of children with autism spectrum disorder. content-analysis of researches

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-125
Author(s):  
I.R. Bodnar ◽  
A.F. Hamade
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Impact

Background. Heeding the experience of existing research will allow designing future scientific research. This will increase physical activitу (PA), improve physical fitness, maintenance and improvement of health of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); assist implementation of inclusion in the educational institutions of the country. Purpose - to analyze the content of physical education programs used in attracting children with autism spectrum disorder to physical activity and to find out domains of indicators that should be investigated. Participants and setting. The analysis of scientific articles for 2000-2019 years was done, 48 publications were selected. Research design. A systematic search for scientific data was conducted, articles that were not related to physical activity were not taken into consideration. The search depth was 3 generations. Data collection. The search of documents was carried out in different databases using keywords «autism», «ASD», «physical activity», «fitness». Articles that studied the effect of different means (lesson programs) on the performance of children with ASD were chosen. More than 100 English-language papers for the last 20 years were analyzed. Data analysis. A content analysis of received data was conducted. The reliability of the differences between the frequency of study of aggregates of indicators was clarified using χ-test. Findings. Scientists, studying the impact of programs of PA on children with ASD, often focus on disruptive behavioral models (31%) of these children and on their indicators of physical fitness and motor skills (35%). Most studies analize the effects of a program using one type of PA. Conclusions. Among the existing research, there is a lack of multidimensional and multimodal programs that would combine effective means of PA. The frequency of communication and cognitive performance research (12% and 10% respectively) significantly (p<0.05) lags behind the research of frequency of physical and behavioral indicators in children with ASD (35% and 31% respectively). there is a lack of research that would study different groups of indicators (physical, cognitive and indicators of problem areas of children with ASD, behavioral and communicative) together.

scholarly journals Parents’ Perceptions of Early Interventions and Related Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faihan Alotaibi ◽  
Nabil Almalki
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Early Interventions ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Government

<p class="apa">The present study sought to examine parents’ perceptions of early interventions and related services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia. In this study a survey was distributed to a sample of 80 parents with children who have ASD. Parents also were asked open-ended questions to enable them to provide suggestions. The findings indicate that parents have varying perceptions of early interventions and related services. However, they seem to agree that these services are important in assisting their children. Accordingly, parents have suggested that the government needs to increase these services by providing more centers for children with ASD in Saudi Arabia, providing more specialists to deal with children with ASD, promoting inclusion in regular schools and providing more information on early intervention.</p>

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on the Adaptive Functioning, Behavioral Problems, and Repetitive Behaviors of Italian Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Observational Study

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Martina Siracusano ◽  
Eugenia Segatori ◽  
Assia Riccioni ◽  
Leonardo Emberti Gialloreti ◽  
Paolo Curatolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Adaptive Functioning ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Adaptive Skills ◽  
The Impact

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families have represented a fragile population on which the extreme circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak may have doubly impaired. Interruption of therapeutical interventions delivered in-person and routine disruption constituted some of the main challenges they had to face. This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on adaptive functioning, behavioral problems, and repetitive behaviors of children with ASD. In a sample of 85 Italian ASD children (mean age 7 years old; 68 males, 17 females), through a comparison with a baseline evaluation performed during the months preceding COVID-19, we evaluated whether after the compulsory home confinement any improvement or worsening was reported by parents of ASD individuals using standardized instruments (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (Second Edition), Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised). No significant worsening in the adaptive functioning, problematic, and repetitive behaviors emerged after the compulsory home confinement. Within the schooler children, clinical stability was found in reference to both adaptive skills and behavioral aspects, whereas within preschoolers, a significant improvement in adaptive skills emerged and was related to the subsistence of web-delivered intervention, parental work continuance, and online support during the lockdown.

scholarly journals Implication of the Sensory Environment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Perspectives from School

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7670
Author(s):  
Ana Gentil-Gutiérrez ◽  
José Luis Cuesta-Gómez ◽  
Paula Rodríguez-Fernández ◽  
Jerónimo Javier González-Bernal
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sensory Profile ◽  
School Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Children With Asd

(1) Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently have difficulties in processing sensory information, which is a limitation when participating in different contexts, such as school. The objective of the present study was to compare the sensory processing characteristics of children with ASD in the natural context of school through the perception of professionals in the field of education, in comparison with neurodevelopmental children (2) Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study as conducted with study population consisting of children between three and ten years old, 36 of whom were diagnosed with ASD and attended the Autismo Burgos association; the remaining 24 had neurotypical development. The degree of response of the children to sensory stimuli at school was evaluated using the Sensory Profile-2 (SP-2) questionnaire in its school version, answered by the teachers. (3) Results: Statistically significant differences were found in sensory processing patterns (p = 0.001), in sensory systems (p = 0.001) and in school factors (p = 0.001). Children with ASD who obtained worse results. (4) Conclusions: Children with ASD are prone to present sensory alterations in different contexts, giving nonadapted behavioral and learning responses.

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