Symptoms of children with autism before and after Quaid-19 disease quarantine: A comparative study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D student of psychology, Department of Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

2 Associate Professor of Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. (Corresponding Author)

3 Professor of Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus (Covid-19) has caused changes in the social life of people around the world. During this time, the lives of more vulnerable people, including children with autism, have been affected by the lack of direct access to special education and rehabilitation services and staying in a monotonous environment away from the home community. The aim of this study was to evaluate the symptoms of children with autism before and after Quarantine-19 quarantine: a comparative study.
Methods: The present study is a comparative causal study. The statistical population was all children aged 6 to 13 years with autism in Tehran. Thirty of these children, who were selected as the available sample, were tested with the Gilliam (Garz) Autism Diagnostic Test. This test was performed on the eve of the unforeseen general quarantine of Covid-19 in early March 2017. After the end of the quarantine period, the test was answered again by the parents of these children. The obtained data were analyzed and compared using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance.
Results: The findings showed a significant difference in the severity of symptoms in children with autism before and after quarantine.
Conclusion: It seems that the reduction of social relations, withdrawal from society and lack of access to educational and rehabilitation services for children with autism can be significantly related to increasing the symptoms of the disorder in these children.

Keywords

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medical journal of mashhad university of medical sciences
Volume 64, Issue 2
July and August 2021
Pages 2876-2883

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