Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Daily Life: Diverse Experiences for Autistic Adults.

This study looked at how COVID-19 affected autistic adults compared to non-autistic adults. Autistic people had mixed experiences - some areas of life were less affected (like social relationships) while others were more challenging (like accessing health services). The biggest stress came from constantly changing rules that weren't clear. However, autistic adults found many different ways to cope that helped reduce their stress.

This mixed-methods study examined COVID-19's impact on 196 autistic and 228 non-autistic adults from Belgium, Netherlands, and the UK during the pandemic's first period. Results revealed diverse experiences among autistic participants across all life domains. Compared to non-autistic adults, autistic participants reported less negative impact on social life but more negative impact on health and support services. Stress in the autism group was primarily linked to changing and unclear pandemic measures.

Participants described a wide range of helpful coping strategies for managing pandemic-related stress, highlighting individual variability in both challenges and adaptive responses.

Findings suggest autistic adults need individualized pandemic support focusing on clear communication and maintaining healthcare access. The diverse experiences highlight importance of flexible, person-centered approaches rather than universal interventions during public health crises.

Study focuses only on the first period of the pandemic, limiting generalizability to later phases. Cross-sectional design prevents assessment of changes over time. Sample characteristics and recruitment methods are not detailed in the abstract, potentially affecting representativeness.

Using a mixed methods design, this study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic and non-autistic adults. We conducted an online survey with 196 autistic and 228 non-autistic adults from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom focusing on their experiences during the first period of the pandemic. Our results indicate rather diverse experiences within the group of autistic participants across all domains of life. In comparison with non-autistic adults, autistic adults reported less negative impact on their social life and more negative impact on health and support services.

In the autism group, stress was mainly related to changing and unclear measures. A wide range of coping strategies were described as helpful in reducing stress during the pandemic.