Differential impact on parental quality of life: Comparing parents to children with autism spectrum disorder and those with other disabilities during the COVID‐19

Background:Limited research has examined parental quality of life (QoL) for care-givers of children with special needs, mostly comparing parents of children withautism spectrum disorder (ASD) to those with typical development. This study exam-ines QoL and related variables during the COVID-19 pandemic among two compara-ble groups: parents of children with ASD and parents of children with otherdiagnoses (non-ASD).

Method:The sample included 175 Israeli parents (ASD=101; non-ASD=74). Theparents were surveyed about the pandemic's effects on family life, child's function,and their own psychological distress, resilience, and QoL.

Results:Parents in both groups reported deterioration in their child's academic, emo-tional, social, and functioning performance. However, higher psychological distressand more deterioration in child behaviour were reported in the ASD group. In bothgroups, QoL was positively associated with the introduction of distance learning andparental resilience and negatively associated with psychological distress, deteriora-tion in the child's behaviour and functioning, and increased time spent with the childat home. An interaction analysis indicated that deterioration in a child's behaviourwas linked to QoL solely within the ASD group, while home atmosphere was associ-ated with QoL in the non-ASD group.

Conclusion:While the COVID-19 pandemic imposed similar challenges on bothparental groups, there is evidence that it may have been more challenging for theASD group. This calls for further examination concerning parents with special needschildren, and accordingly, tailoring targeted and specific help for them