Impact of COVID-19 on autism spectrum disorder management - a therapist perspective

INTRODUCTION: Therapist led interventions form a core element in the management of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in India. COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted several aspects of ASD management. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ASD therapies from a therapist perspective. METHODS: An online survey was conducted using a google form questionnaire disseminated among ASD therapists. The form was open for response between 23(rd) of June and 23(rd) of July 2020. The responses were extracted into an excel sheet and analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: 41 out of 75 therapists with mean age of 44 years (21 – 58 years) responded to the survey. 48% were women. Majority of them were either special educators (49%) or ASD therapists (32%) with professional experience of >5 years (63%). Majority of the therapists felt that there is significant disruption during the pandemic with reduction in conventional therapies (63% to 17%) and increase in online therapies (15% to 61%). They also felt that this disruption had moderate to severe impact on child’s learning (73%) and parents emotional and psychological well being (85%). Only 22% of therapists were using digital based therapy (DBT) before the pandemic. Although 51% of the therapists were not entirely sure whether DBT augments parents and therapists’ efforts, majority (65%) were willing to use them. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted ASD therapy in India. Willingness to use online and digital based therapies could open up a new dimension. Reliable and effective Artificial-Intelligence based therapies are the need of the day. DISCLOSURE: Medical advisor for CognitiveBotics