Child and adolescent psychiatry research during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 and psychiatry training: A cross-national trainee perspective

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has significantly altered many aspects of our professional lives, including how psychiatry as a medical discipline is taught and learnt. Training in psychiatry relies on developing competencies through observing and interacting with patients, developing empathic consultation skills and seeking feedback from colleagues derived from cognitive and constructivist theories of learning, in a time-bound manner. The pandemic has drawn attention to the dual role of psychiatry residents as both trainees and physicians, with a pressing identity crisis at an inopportune time. This paper aims to illustrate some of the emerging themes in psychiatry training during the pandemic and some solutions for the same.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children with ASD and Their Families: An Online Survey in China

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown will have short-term and long-term psychosocial and mental health implications for children. Children with autism may have some specific needs for support because of their difficulties in social communication, stereotyped behavior patterns, and other specificities brought about by autism.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ASD children and their families.

Patients and Methods

A total of 406 parents of ASD children completed an online survey investigating basic information; sleep, outdoor activities, and rehabilitation training; ASD children's frequency of abnormal behaviors; and stress and emotional status of parents.

Results

50.3% of the parents thought their children had sleep problems, and 47.3% of the parents thought their children's outdoor activity time was reduced. About 40% of parents think that their children have improved cognitive ability, language expression, and understanding. 36.2% of the families reported that their children's emotional and social performance became worse. 60.8% of parents reported that their children's training intensity decreased. The most common abnormal behaviors observed in children with ASD were being easily distracted, losing temper, and crying. 81.3% of parents did not have anxiety, but 98% of parents reported that family training was under pressure.

Conclusion

The main impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with ASD is that they do not have access to professional rehabilitation training. These families need more medical support, especially in family training, to help parents improve the social and emotional control skills of ASD children.