Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Nov 25;11(6):411-425.
doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i6.411.

Effects of COVID-19 on children with autism

Mohammed Al-Beltagi  1   2   3 , Nermin Kamal Saeed  4   5 , Adel Salah Bediwy  6   7   8 , Rawan Alhawamdeh  9   10 , Samara Qaraghuli  11
Affiliations
Review

Effects of COVID-19 on children with autism

Mohammed Al-Beltagi et al. World J Virol. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affects all countries and populations worldwide, significantly impacting people with autism with a high risk of morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. Approximately 25% of children with autism have an asymptomatic or symptomatic immune deficiency or dysfunction. In addition, they frequently have various comorbid conditions that increase the severity of COVID-19. In addition, severe COVID-19 during pregnancy may increase the risk of autism in the offspring. Furthermore, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 could target human nervous system tissues due to its neurotrophic effects. The COVID-19 pandemic intensely impacts many patients and families in the autism community, especially the complex management of autism-associated disorders during the complete lockdown. During the complete lockdown, children with autism had difficulties coping with the change in their routine, lack of access to special education services, limited physical space available, and problems related to food and sleep. Additionally, children with autism or intellectual disabilities are more liable to be abused by others during the pandemic when the standard community supports are no longer functioning to protect them. Early detection and vaccination of children with autism against COVID-19 are highly indicated. They should be prioritized for testing, vaccination, and proper management of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. In this review, we discuss the various effects of COVID-19 on children with autism, the difficulties they face, the increased risk of infection during pregnancy, how to alleviate the impact of COVID-19, and how to correct the inequalities in children with autism.

Keywords: ASD; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; COVID-19; Children; Neurotropism; SARS-CoV-2; Testing; Vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The various neurological symptoms observed in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Visual demonstration of nasopharyngeal swab testing steps.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Saeed NK, Al-Khawaja S, Alsalman J, Almusawi S, Albalooshi NA, Al-Biltagi M. Bacterial co-infection in patients with SARS-CoV-2 in the Kingdom of Bahrain. World J Virol . 2021;10:168–181. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cacioppo M, Bouvier S, Bailly R, Houx L, Lempereur M, Mensah-Gourmel J, Kandalaft C, Varengue R, Chatelin A, Vagnoni J, Vuillerot C, Gautheron V, Dinomais M, Dheilly E, Brochard S, Pons C ECHO Group. Emerging health challenges for children with physical disabilities and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: The ECHO French survey. Ann Phys Rehabil Med . 2021;64:101429. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morelli M, Cattelino E, Baiocco R, Trumello C, Babore A, Candelori C, Chirumbolo A. Parents and Children During the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Influence of Parenting Distress and Parenting Self-Efficacy on Children's Emotional Well-Being. Front Psychol . 2020;11:584645. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Singh S, Roy D, Sinha K, Parveen S, Sharma G, Joshi G. Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Res . 2020;293:113429. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yılmaz B, Azak M, Şahin N. Mental health of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. World J Psychiatry . 2021;11:388–402. - PMC - PubMed