Changes in Symptom Severity and Sleeping Habits After Earthquake in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Case of the Kahramanmaras Earthquake in 2023, Turkey

Purpose: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of diseases that appear with difficulties in social interaction and communication skills, limited repetitive interests and behaviours. Natural disasters, especially earthquakes, can cause psychological disorders. A review of the disaster literature shows that natural disasters do not affect individuals in the same way; children and people with disabilities such as ASD are considered the most vulnerable group. It was aimed to evaluate the post-earthquake effects on the children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD in the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquake on February 6, 2023. Methods: 22 children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD were included in the study. Children with ASD who applied to the Hatay Field Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic three months after the earthquake were evaluated. Sociodemographic Data Form, Aberrant Behavior Checklist (AbBC), the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scales were administered. Results: This study included 19 (86.4%) boys and 3 (13.6%) girls. The age of the participants was 9.92±3.52 years. AbBC-hyperactive (p<0.001), AbBC-lethargy (p=0.001), AbBC-stereotype behaviours (p<0.001), AbBC-other behaviours (p<0.001) subscale scores; the CSHQ-sleep anxiety (p=0.008) subscale score; the ABC-sensory behaviour (p=0.017), ABC-social rating (p=0.034), ABC-social and adaptive skills (p=0.026) subscales scores significantly increased after the earthquake compared to pre-earthquake. Conclusion: The study's findings give information about the increase in the severity of autism symptoms in this group after the earthquake, that is, the worsening in the clinic. This study contributes to the literature by evaluating the impact of an important natural disaster, such as an earthquake on children and adolescents with ASD. We suggest that future studies compare different severity of ASD and further research on areas that have not been studied enough.