ULB (centre ACTE) et Fondation SUSA Mons
Confinement lié au Covid-19 : le vécu de la famille et de l'enfant avec autisme." For almost two months, Belgian families have been confined at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This lockdown dramatically changed the daily life of families, especially those living with an autistic child, because social life and relationships are at the very heart of the autistic functioning. In some cases, changing daily habits and routines, closing of schools, stopping interventions and outdoor activities led to an increase of behavioral disorders and significantly impaired the quality of life of autistic people and their family. But, on the other hand, some families report an improvement of their child’s behavior, potentially due to a decrease of usual social demands. In order to understand how families with an autistic child dealt during this lockdown period, we conducted an on-line survey. To date, more than 250 French-speaking Belgian families completed the questionnaire. By analyzing the data, we hope to draw lessons on the relevance of usual interventions and special-needs that we will have to address in the context of potentially long-lasting or recurrent lockdown. 
Contact: Cette étude est menée par Marielle Weyland (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) à l'Université Libre de Bruxelles, sous la supervision du Professeur Mikhail Kissine (centre de Recherche ACTE, ULB) et la Fondation Susa représentée par le Dr Pierre Defresne et le Professeur Éric Willaye (UMons). Cette étude a été approuvée par le Comité d'Avis Éthique Facultaire de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles.