COVID-19 Research

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The impact of the pandemic on families of children with disabilities is the focus of a recently published study from Statistics Canada. Researchers found that while parents of children with disabilities and parents of children without disabilities had similar levels of concern for their families, a higher proportion of parents of children with disabilities were very or extremely concerned about their children's amount of screen time, loneliness or isolation, general mental health, and school year and academic success.  

 The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development is conducting an online, questionnaire based study to address the psychosocial and behavioral impact of COVID-19 on children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study includes questions about the level of supports and services your child received at the beginning of 2020 and compares with the time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The deadline to participate is September 8, 2020. 

 Parents and guardians of children with ASD aged 2 to 18 years of age are encouraged to complete the questionnaire  

Survey data will be used to inform educational, behavioral, and mental health to determine how to better support families with a child with ASD during this extremely challenging time.