Abstract
Date Presented 03/21/24
This paper focuses on findings from a qualitative research project examining multiple perspectives on experiences of clinicians, educators, and parents of autistic children during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly related to place and time.
Primary Author and Speaker: Mary Lawlor
Additional Authors and Speakers: Erna Blanche, Brigid Connelly
PURPOSE: We examined multiple perspectives of occupational disruptions caused by the re-organization of place and time on the lives of autistic children and their families, clinicians, and educators during COVID-19. The dislocations from place and time were closely related to the intersectional effects of health, racial, and social inequities in the autism community.
DESIGN: We used narrative interviewing (Lawlor & Mattingly, 2000) to elicit emic perspectives of caregivers of autistic children, educators, and clinicians in the Los Angeles area who provided services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This conceptual approach draws on current and prior narrative, phenomenological, and ethnographic projects.
METHOD: We conducted 66 individual and 6 group semi-structured interviews via remote data collection. Participants included caregivers of autistic children, educators, and clinicians who provided services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was coded and analyzed via NVivo. Strategies to enhance rigor were incorporated.
RESULTS: The intersectional factors related to the reorganization of space and time and its impact on occupational disruption run through several selected themes identified from the data. These themes included in-the-moment sensemaking, managing uncertainty, inequities (health, racial, social), and new understandings of home life, clinical work, and academic learning.
CONCLUSION: The re-organization of place and time varied greatly across and within families of autistic children, educators, and clinicians. This multiplicity of perspectives on home and work life was shaped by the intersection of health, racial, and social influences. The complex intersection between space and time influenced the organization of daily routines well after the stay-at-home orders were lifted, resulting in new insights and opportunities. Narrative interviews reveal sense-making, the perception of continued uncertainty, and scenario building for the future.
References
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Lawlor, M., & Mattingly, C. (2000). Learning from Stories: Narrative Interviewing in Cross-cultural Research. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 7(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/110381200443571
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