Parental Experiences of Distance Learning in Families with and without an Adolescent with ADHD/ASD: A Large Qualitative Survey Study

Lisa B. Thorell (), Anna-Karin Klint Carlander, Youstina Demetry, Lisa Marainen, Sarah Nilsson and Charlotte Skoglund
Additional contact information
Lisa B. Thorell: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Anna-Karin Klint Carlander: Department of Clinical Sciences at Danderyd, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Youstina Demetry: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Lisa Marainen: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Sarah Nilsson: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Charlotte Skoglund: Department of Women and Child Health, Uppsala University, 75124 Uppsala, Sweden

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: One of the greatest COVID-19-related challenges for children and their families was managing distance learning due to school closures. We also know from previous research that families with a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder such as ADHD or ASD were struggling more than others but also experienced some positive effects. However, few qualitative studies have been conducted. The present study therefore aimed to investigate parental experiences of the negative and positive effects of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large sample of families with an adolescent with ADHD and/or ASD and a matched comparison group ( n = 682). Data were collected through open-ended questions as part of a larger survey study. Five main themes with different sub-themes were identified for both negative and positive effects: (1) Teaching, (2) Social, (3) Support, (4) Child factors, and (5) Home environment. In addition, the main theme “Technical problems” was identified for negative effects. Families with a child with ADHD/ASD reported negative effects related to “Child factors” and “Support” more frequently than the controls, as well as negative effects related to some aspects of “Teaching” and “Technical problems”. Regarding positive effects, significant group differences were primarily found for the theme “Child factors”. These findings are discussed both in terms of how to best prepare for possible future pandemics, but also of how to best provide educational support for children with ADHD and/or ASD when schools are open.

Keywords: COVID-19; distance learning; ADHD; Autism Spectrum Disorders; qualitative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/4/388/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/4/388/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:4:p:388-:d:1362625

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().