A support group is reporting a sharp rise in calls from parents concerned that their child is autistic – but says their behaviour may be the result of the pandemic.
Sunshine Support, an organisation that helps families of children with special educational needs, says the increase in enquiries may be related to a delay in social skills and increase of sensory sensitivities caused by a lack of contact during lockdown.
Although it has had more enquiries than ever before from parents of children under five years old their experts say that in many cases the behaviours displayed may not be autism.
Sunshine Support founder Chrissa Wadlow is urging parents not to jump to conclusion about their children being autistic.
Sunshine Support founder Chrissa Wadlow said: “The numbers of parents who are anxious that their child is autistic has absolutely gone through the roof and while this may in part be because society has a better understanding of the traits of autism, it might also be because the pandemic, and lockdown in particular, has had a dramatic effect on children under five.
“We are not saying that these parents are wrong to seek help – if the child is showing signs of distress or delayed development then they absolutely should be seeking advice or support; we recommend a full needs assessment to understand what is going on.
“But there is no doubt at all that the pandemic has had a profound effect on younger children who have not been collaborating with their peers for shared play or making safe and secure connections with those who aren’t the main care-giver; such as teachers, nursery staff, family members and friends.”
The organisation says that by the age of five years old children have normally developed a number of key skills such as seeking the company of others and enjoying reciprocal experiences and sharing their thoughts and ideas with familiar adults.
But over the last two years the pandemic has reduced children’s ability to socialise as they would have pre-pandemic.
Under-fives have not been able to access extra-curricular classes such as baby sensory groups or the toddler music time sessions, while skills such as sharing may have been delayed or missed. This in turn means that opportunities to understand how to regulate and understand reasoning and the emotions they bring may have not been learnt as they would have before.
Chrissa added: “The pandemic reduced the size of the child’s world. Before they could go anywhere and everywhere; exploring new locations, new foods, new temperatures, new textures, new sounds and music, new smells. Their sensory system is out of practice and lacking in resilience.
“All the normal ways to develop a child’s sensory systems and attachment with the care-giver were removed during lockdown which has meant their ability to understand and regulate their emotions has also been reduced.
“Regression is also a normal part of childhood development, but we are seeing a lot of children who suddenly ask for help with tasks they’ve done by themselves, backtrack on developmental milestones they’ve hit, and suddenly have a hard time regulating emotions in a way they haven’t before.
“None of this means a child is autistic, it may simply be a result of the pandemic and I would urge parents not to jump to the wrong conclusion.
“Any cause for concern needs further investigating of course, we are not advocating for parents to do nothing, we just want to reassure the rising numbers of people enquiring that there may be a different reason for the behaviours they are seeing.”
