Background

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic brought significant movement restrictions and national lockdowns. These drastic changes impacted routines, social life and support networks for the autistic community.

Aims

This study investigated the lived experiences of autistic adults with social expectations before and during the first Covid-19 lockdown in Spain.

Methods

A qualitative Reflexive Thematic Analysis was applied to 10 Photo Elicitation Interviews using images provided by five autistic adults. Interviews were conducted at two time points, before the pandemic and during the first lockdown.

Findings

Three themes before the pandemic were identified: (1) everyday interactions, (2) finding sense of belonging, and (3) fractured wellbeing, which revealed the participants’ eagerness to fit in socially whilst experiencing rejection, weakening their mental health. During the first Covid-19 lockdown, two master themes were identified: (1) daily, positive experiences, and (2) surfacing failures, which emphasised an increased lived stigma as well as an ineffective autism support network, contributing to a heightened anxiety.

Conclusions

The current study provides further support to the recent findings highlighting lack of appropriate mental health support for the autistic communities during the pandemic, across the world. Future research should aim to provide more data on the experiences and needs of autistic communities when sudden societal changes are imposed.

中文翻译：

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西班牙 Covid-19 封锁之前和期间自闭症成年人在社交世界中的个人经历

背景

SARS-CoV-2 冠状病毒大流行带来了严重的行动限制和国家封锁。这些巨大的变化影响了自闭症群体的日常生活、社交生活和支持网络。

目标

这项研究调查了西班牙首次 Covid-19 封锁之前和期间具有社会期望的自闭症成年人的生活经历。

方法

使用五名自闭症成人提供的图像，对 10 次照片启发访谈进行了定性反思主题分析。采访是在大流行之前和第一次封锁期间两个时间点进行的。

发现

在大流行之前确定了三个主题：（1）日常互动，（2）寻找归属感，以及（3）破碎的幸福感，这揭示了参与者在经历拒绝的同时渴望融入社会，从而削弱了他们的心理健康。在第一次 Covid-19 封锁期间，确定了两个主要主题：(1) 日常、积极的经历，以及 (2) 表面的失败，这强调了生活耻辱感的增加以及自闭症支持网络的无效，导致焦虑加剧。

结论

目前的研究为最近的研究结果提供了进一步的支持，该研究结果强调，在大流行期间，世界各地的自闭症群体缺乏适当的心理健康支持。未来的研究应该旨在提供更多关于当社会突然发生变化时自闭症社区的经历和需求的数据。