Telemonitoring of the perception of mothers of children at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder regarding their children's communicative profile in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Child development; Language Development; Language Development Disorders; Autistic Spectrum Disorder; Telemonitoring.
Introduction: The identification of the first signs of risk for Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by the family itself is essential for the search for professional assistance and early diagnosis. With the COVID-19 pandemic, telemonitoring has become a possible alternative for welcoming and accompanying families whose children are suspected of communication disorders. Objective: Investigate what are the initial complaints regarding the communication and social interaction of mothers whose children have suspected ASD, in addition to verifying whether the perception of these mothers is modified by specialized professional guidance. Method: This research is being carried out through an observational, prospective, transversal and analytical study. It is an uncontrolled case series study, whose data analysis involves the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The sample is composed of mothers whose children have clinical risk indicators for Autism Spectrum Disorder and who seek care at the Multidisciplinary Service of Attention to the Autism Spectrum of the Santos Dumont Institute. Telemonitoring will take place before, during and after an orientation program with mothers. Thus, data collection provides for three stages in a remote format, which involve the application of questionnaires in a dialog. The data will be analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics comparing the stages of collection. Expected results: We hope that at the end of the study it will be possible to identify the first communicative difficulties perceived by these mothers, and that the perception of these mothers will become more accurate after professional guidance.