Impacto do isolamento social durante a pandemia da covid-19 na vida das mães e crianças com transtorno do espectro autista: um estudo qualitativo

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the daily routine of families around the world. These changes had intense consequences for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who suffered a significant impact with the suspension of supportive therapies and presential classes. This study aimed to analyze the impact of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic for children with ASD and on the mental mental health of the mothers of these children. Qualitative research was carried out with mothers of children with ASD, aged between six and 12 years, attended at a dental school of a public university in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern region of Brazil. An individual interview was used, guided by a semi-structured script. The participants were interviewed between May and August 2021. Considering the need for social isolation at that time of the pandemic, the interviews were conducted remotely through the WhatsApp® application. The interviews were recorded and all speeches were transcribed literally. The speeches were scrutinized through content analysis, with four thematic cores: COVID-19 pandemic, general child health, child's oral health and mother's mental health. Prior to the main study, a pilot study was carried out with five participants. There was no need for any changes to the instrument or the field research logistics. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at UFMG (CAAE: 46953521.4.0000.5149 / Project approval number: 4,807,252). The average duration of the interviews was 55 minutes. The research had the participation of 15 mothers of children with ASD. At first, the data analyzed in article 1 will be presented, which analyzed the perception of a group of mothers about the impact of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of children with ASD. The interviewees reported difficulties for the children to follow the safety measures to prevent the disease (such as the use of a mask, hand hygiene and stop the habit of putting objects in the mouth) and problems with the suspension of presential classes and routine treatments (psychotherapy, speech therapy), which are a crucial part of the rehabilitation of most children with ASD. In general, for the interviewees, there was a regression in the development and socialization of their children. Some children became more aggressive and anxious, influencing the routine of the whole family. There was a worsening of eating habits and oral hygiene. Mothers signaled even strong difficulties in obtaining dental care for their child. Mothers frequently mentioned feelings of stress, insecurity and fear related to the difficulties of their child with ASD to comply with safety measures against COVID-19 and to be able to follow online classes. With the suspension of rehabilitative treatments for children, mothers needed to develop at home skills to perform some activities related to the therapeutic treatments that their children performed prior through the pandemic. In addition, many mothers started helping children, side by side, during online classes. There was an overload of work for the mothers. From this study, it was concluded that the pandemic had a major impact on the lives of children with ASD and their mothers. The impairment of educational and therapeutic activities indicated significant losses in children's development, with negative repercussions on general and oral health