Psychological Interventions for Children with Autism during the COVID-19 Pandemic through a Remote Behavioral Skills Training Program
Flavia Marino, Paola Chilà, Chiara Failla, Roberta Minutoli, Noemi Vetrano, Claudia Luraschi, Cristina Carrozza, Elisa Leonardi, Mario Busà, Sara Genovese, Rosa Musotto, Alfio Puglisi, Antonino Andrea Arnao, Giuliana Cardella, Francesca Isabella Famà, Gaspare Cusimano, David Vagni, Pio Martines, Giovanna Mendolia, Gennaro Tartarisco, Antonio Cerasa, Liliana Ruta, Giovanni Pioggia
Abstract
COVID-19 has impacted negatively on the mental health of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as on their parents. Remote health services are a sustainable approach to behavior management interventions and to giving caregivers emotional support in several clinical domains. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we investigated the feasibility of a web-based behavioral skills training (BST) program for 16 parents and their children with ASD at home. The BST parent training package was tailored to each different specific behavioral disorder that characterizes children with ASD. After training, we found a significant reduction in the frequency of all the targeted behavioral disorders, as well as an improvement in psychological distress and the perception of the severity of ASD-related symptoms in parents. Our data confirm the efficacy of remote health care systems in the management of behavioral disorders of children with ASD, as well as of their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.