COVID-19 and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Selected strategies to support people with ASD during a pandemic

Abstract

Acute respiratory disease (COVID-19) is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and its first cases were reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Soon, the epidemic of this
disease, due to its dynamics and global scope, was called pandemic. For this reason, in many countries all over the world, various types of restrictions have been introduced, mainly related to social movement and contacts. Due to the introduced changes, people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) lost the possibility of using systemic and comprehensive institutional assistance and support (such as therapy and schooling). Due to the specificity of their functioning, they also experienced a number of difficult situations.

This article is an attempt to describe the difficulties that people with ASD have to face in a pandemic, and also presents examples of supporting strategies, which can help them to understand the situation and improve coping with stress. The proposals are created on the basis of Carol Gray’s social stories and use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication means to convey information about the virus and rules of behavior, as well as to facilitate the expression and regulation of emotions, and sensitize caregivers to difficult mental and somatic
experiences faced by people with ASD, which might be subtly and ambiguously expressed.