In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) outbreak, the home confinement of the population ordered by governments in many countries raise questions about its impact on individuals' physical and mental health in the short and longer term. In children, reduced physical activity, changes in lifestyle, disturbances in sleep patterns, lack of in-person contact with peers, poor or inadequate understanding of health risks may be risk factors of anxiety, stress, fatigue, sleep disorders. These problematic effects could be modulated by social factors (housing in urban or rural areas, availability of personal space at home, parenting stress, etc.).
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or hyperactive children (ADHD) usually have
behavioral and emotional difficulties. The disorders they suffer from, which considerably
disturb family life, the therapies they benefit from, which help to organize and structure
their daily lives, make them a coherent study group whose observation during home confinement
is particularly relevant. Therefore, it is especially interesting to explore the impact of
quarantine on the evolution of clinical symptoms and family dynamic.
There is little evidence about the impact of prolonged confinement in these children. The
first clinical observations, at the beginning of confinement, reported various situations.
Some children showed marked emotional disturbances, whereas others seem to be happy with less
social pressure. For ASDs, the ritualization can be a stabilizing factor. For ADHDs, the
decrease in school pressure is undoubtedly a positive factor. The availability of parents to
create a suitable environment could play a major role. In all cases, changes in care
management (teleconsultations for most of them), disruption in routines and lack of points of
reference, adjustment in parenting and caring for children for the parents (with difficulties
that could increase with prolonged duration of confinement), could have serious long-term
effects, but also create opportunities.
So, the present study aim to document the experience of home confinement in children and
adolescents with ASD and/or ADHD quarantined because of covid-19 outbreak in various
socio-cultural contexts. The experiences reported by the children, their parents and their
caregivers will help understand the psychological impact of quarantine.
Other: Interview by psychologists
Interviews for children / teenagers and parents :
The questions encourage a narrative
Repeated interviews: during confinement, at the end of confinement, and 3 months after the end of confinement
Interviews carried out by videoconference, by trained psychologists not involved in the care process
Interview for referring caregivers: a single interview of approximately 45 minutes, 3 months post-confinement
1. Inclusion Criteria:
Children / adolescents:
- autism spectrum disorder (ASD) w/wo co-morbidities and/or attention-deficit -
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- aged 6 to 17 years (developmental age)
- cared by child psychiatry services involved in the study with continuing care
(teleconsultations) during home confinement
- at least one parent consent to participate in the study
- child benefiting from a social security
Parents: one or both parents depending on availability and confinement configurations
(childcare)
Referring caregivers: the referring caregiver will be identified at the time of the
child's inclusion in the study
2. Exclusion Criteria:
- Parents subject to a judicial safeguard order, guardianship or trusteeship
- Parents or children/adolescents who refuse to participate
- Parents unable to comply with the study requirements because of language or
because of lack of access to visio or telephone conference facilities
University hospital of Toulouse
Toulouse, Occitanie, France
Centre Hospitalier de Versailles
Le Chesnay, France
Centre Hospitalier Esquirol
Limoges, France
Hôpital Robert-Debré (AP-HP)
Paris, France
Maison de Solenn (Hôpital Cochin AP-HP)
Paris, France
Malika DELOBEL-AYOUB, Principal Investigator
University Hospital, Toulouse