Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic weighed upon caregivers. School closings imposed routine changes and sparked anxiety in individuals with ASD (Factor et al., 2016; van Steensel & Heeman, 2017). Caregivers of children with special needs reported that the changes they experienced when schools were closed during COVID-19 had a negative effect on their own mental health as well as the mental health of their child (Asbury et al., 2020). These caregivers have significant concern about their ability to home school their children, as these children often require complex educational support from a team of trained educational professionals (Toseeb et al., 2020). Greater levels of parental stress during COVID-19 were mainly linked to child behavioral characteristics rather than parental sense of competence in parents of children affected by a disability in comparison to children with typical development (Siracusano et al., 2021). The study’s findings emphasize the need to support not only individuals with special needs but also their own caregivers.