The outcomes from the Covid-19 outbreak were challenging for everyone, from children, adolescents, adults to elderly people. However, although for most of us it was a very challenging period, the pandemic was particularly hard for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other mental disorders and their families (Dekker, 2022).
The educational environment of the children and the young adults has significantly changed as a result of the pandemic by causing closure of schools, kindergartens, and day care centers. The closure of the schools has caused children and youth to have more need for parent support more than ever (Unicef Eastern Caribbean, 2022). Many parents of youth with disabilities have lost the daily support from the educational institutions which has doubtlessly caused pressure on them. During the pandemic the role of the parents has notably changed because of the need for having to provide ongoing care especially for the parents of youth with ASD and other mental health disorders. The pandemic had long-term negative impacts not just on the adolescents with ASD and other mental health disorders but on the parents as well by experiencing stress and increased demands due to Covid-19 and pandemic related lockdown measures. In the meantime, parents during the pandemic needed to act simultaneously as teachers, caregivers, and therapists (Unicef, 2022; Lee V et al., 2021).
Additionally, to all these difficulties, the parents of adolescents living with ASD and other mental health disorders have experienced economic hardships and income cuts which are also linked with the Covid-19 crisis (Esteban et al., 2021) especially because of the need to meet their youth’s educational, care or even therapeutic needs at home (Meral, 2021). The economic difficulties were especially noticed in the post-pandemic period, by causing challenges and struggles for a lot of families in order to meet the basic needs at home. The consequences of the crisis caused significant economic hardships especially for the parents of adults with ASD and other mental health disorders (Beweja, Brown, Edwards & Murray, 2021).
Overall, the findings illustrated that the parents of youth with ASD and other mental health disorders have a need of support services, provision of care and educational support and training programs as well (Alhuzimi, 2021). The educational and social institutions should find a way how to help parents of youth living with ASD and other mental health disorders not just with the provision of care and educational support but also with financial maintenance in order to meet their needs which have significantly changed consequently as a result of the pandemic.
Reference
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