Parents' perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 and school transition on autistic children's friendships

TY - JOUR

T1 - Parents' perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 and school transition on autistic children's friendships

AU - Fox, Laura

AU - Asbury, Kathryn

AU - Code, Aimee

AU - Toseeb, Umar

N1 - © The Author(s) 2022

PY - 2022/9/6

Y1 - 2022/9/6

N2 - LAY ABSTRACT: Research shows that moving schools can be a challenging time for autistic children and young people. One factor that has been found to support successful transition is friendships. However, there is little research exploring how transition between schools affects autistic children's friendships, and even less on how children's relationships during transition have been impacted by COVID-19. Fourteen parents of autistic children and young people were interviewed about their child's move to a new school and the impact they felt this had on their friendships. Parents described how moving with existing friends helped some children to find the transition less challenging. Others had differing experiences, with their children's friendships playing a much smaller role in the move. Differences were also seen with regard to the impact of COVID-19, with some parents speaking of how hard being away from friends was for their child, while others found the social restrictions a welcome break from interacting with peers. The study highlights how different the experiences of autistic individuals, and their parents, can be and the importance of a child-centred approach to transition support.

AB - LAY ABSTRACT: Research shows that moving schools can be a challenging time for autistic children and young people. One factor that has been found to support successful transition is friendships. However, there is little research exploring how transition between schools affects autistic children's friendships, and even less on how children's relationships during transition have been impacted by COVID-19. Fourteen parents of autistic children and young people were interviewed about their child's move to a new school and the impact they felt this had on their friendships. Parents described how moving with existing friends helped some children to find the transition less challenging. Others had differing experiences, with their children's friendships playing a much smaller role in the move. Differences were also seen with regard to the impact of COVID-19, with some parents speaking of how hard being away from friends was for their child, while others found the social restrictions a welcome break from interacting with peers. The study highlights how different the experiences of autistic individuals, and their parents, can be and the importance of a child-centred approach to transition support.

U2 - 10.1177/13623613221123734

DO - 10.1177/13623613221123734

M3 - Article

C2 - 36065837

SN - 1362-3613

JO - Autism

JF - Autism

ER -