Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Daily Life: Diverse Experiences for Autistic Adults

Jarymke Maljaars; Eef Gijbels; Kris Evers; Debbie Spain; Freya Rumball; Francesca Happé; Ilse Noens

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05437-x

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Daily Life: Diverse Experiences for Autistic Adults

Jarymke Maljaars^*, Eef Gijbels, Kris Evers, Debbie Spain, Freya Rumball, Francesca Happé, Ilse Noens

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Using a mixed methods design, this study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic and non-autistic adults. We conducted an online survey with 196 autistic and 228 non-autistic adults from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom focusing on their experiences during the first period of the pandemic. Our results indicate rather diverse experiences within the group of autistic participants across all domains of life. In comparison with non-autistic adults, autistic adults reported less negative impact on their social life and more negative impact on health and support services. In the autism group, stress was mainly related to changing and unclear measures. A wide range of coping strategies were described as helpful in reducing stress during the pandemic.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05437-x
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2022

Keywords

Adults
Autism
COVID-19
Impact on daily life
Pandemic
Perceived stress

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10.1007/s10803-022-05437-x

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title = "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Daily Life: Diverse Experiences for Autistic Adults",

abstract = "Using a mixed methods design, this study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic and non-autistic adults. We conducted an online survey with 196 autistic and 228 non-autistic adults from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom focusing on their experiences during the first period of the pandemic. Our results indicate rather diverse experiences within the group of autistic participants across all domains of life. In comparison with non-autistic adults, autistic adults reported less negative impact on their social life and more negative impact on health and support services. In the autism group, stress was mainly related to changing and unclear measures. A wide range of coping strategies were described as helpful in reducing stress during the pandemic.",

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note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders [Grant Number 12L6916N] and by KU Leuven [grant {\textquoteleft}Opening the Future{\textquoteright}] and by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King{\textquoteright}s College London. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.",

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AU - Evers, Kris

AU - Spain, Debbie

AU - Rumball, Freya

AU - Happé, Francesca

AU - Noens, Ilse

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders [Grant Number 12L6916N] and by KU Leuven [grant ‘Opening the Future’] and by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Daily Life: Diverse Experiences for Autistic Adults

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Keywords

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