A Qualitative Study on the Impact of Covid-19 on Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Families’ Coping Strategies and Beliefs about Online Education

Abstract

Most studies on individuals with ASD and their families during the pandemic were conducted via online data collection with short question-answers. For a more in-depth understanding, we have conducted a qualitative study to understand the extent of the impact of the early stage of the pandemic on children with ASD. The findings in this study were obtained from two groups of participants. The first one included 92 parents or caregivers of children with ASD from six cities in Turkey. The participants in this group reported 159 negative behavior changes in 28 different behavior types. We also selected 32 parents, some of them from the first group, to investigate their coping strategies, use of online education, and expectations from institutions and organizations. We found mixed evidence about the impact of the pandemic. Whereas most families report increased anxiety and stress, aggressive, obsessive and repetitive behavior, violence towards self and others, a significant number of families declared improvement in speech, social communication, academic skills, and eye contact. They explained that parents’ spending quality time and paying close attention to their children’s needs led to positive developments in their children. The participants also stated that online special education for children was dysfunctional and inefficient.

Keywords

• Pandemic
• autism
• special education
• online education

Covid-19 Salgınının Otizm Spektrum Bozukluğu Olan Bireylere Etkisi ve Ailelerinin Başetme Stratejileri İle Uzaktan Eğitime Yönelik Görüşleri Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Pandemi döneminde Otizm Spektrum Bozukluğu olan (OSB) bireyler ve aileleri üzerine yapılan çalışmaların çoğu kısa soru-cevaplarla çevrimiçi veri toplama yoluyla yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmada, pandeminin ilk döneminde OSB'li bireyler üzerindeki etkisini daha derinlemesine anlamak üzere nitel bir inceleme gerçekleştirdik. Çalışmadaki bulgular iki grup katılımcıdan elde edilmiştir. İlki, Türkiye'deki altı ilden OSB'li çocukların anne-baba veya bakıcılarından oluşan 92 katılımcıyı içermektedir. Bu gruptaki katılımcılar çocuklarının 28 farklı davranış türünde 159 olumsuz davranış değişikliği gösterdiklerini bildirdiler. Bazıları birinci gruptan olmak üzere, ikinci grupta yer alan 32 veliye daha derinlemesine görüşme sorularıyla bu süreçteki baş etme stratejileri, çevrimiçi eğitim kullanımları, kurum ve kuruluşlardan beklentilerini incledik. Katılımcılar, pandeminin etkisi ile ilgili olumlu ve olumsuz olmak üzere biribiriyle çelişik görüşler bildirmişlerdir. Çoğu aile bu süreçte çocuklarının kaygı, stres, saldırganlık, takıntılı ve tekrarlayıcı davranışlar ile kendine ve başkalarına zarar verme davranışlarında olumsuz gelişme gösterdiklerini bildirirken, önemli sayıda katılımcı çocuklarının konuşma, sosyal iletişim, akademik beceri ve göz temasında olumlu yönde gelşme olduğunu beyan etmiştir. Aileler, bu olumlu gelişmenin nedeni olarak pandemi döneminde çocuklarıyla kaliteli zaman geçirmiş olmalarına ve onların ihtiyaçlarını daha iyi gözleme fırsatı bulmalarına bağlamıştır. Katılımcıların çoğu ayrıca çevrimiçi özel eğitimin işlevsiz ve verimsiz olduğunu belirtmişlerdir.

Keywords

• Salgın
• otizm
• özel eğitim
• çevrimiçi eğitim

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