As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak began to spread around the globe, countries reacted to the threat with a series of measures implemented in varying degrees. The Special Children Support System of Turkey was designed to provide multidisciplinary support for the families of children with developmental special needs who experience difficulty during COVID-19 pandemic and related home confinement. The system combines telehealth applications with services from local psychosocial intervention teams. This report describes the case of an 11-year old child with autism spectrum disorder who returned to Turkey from the United Kingdom and was housed in a dormitory for a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. The telehealth-based system developed by our institution specifically to support children with special needs during the COVID-19 pandemic was a tool the family used to help manage the circumstances. Changes in the environment and routine can be very difficult for those with autism. It is important that appropriate intervention mechanisms are available and used early. The intensive application of both behavioral and medical treatment with a multidisciplinary team resulted in a significant change in the patient’s symptoms, Access to and use of a rapid intervention system can have a decisive impact.
___
1. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health. COVID-19. https://www. saglik.gov.tr/. Accessed August 17, 2020.
2. Huremović D. Psychiatry of pandemics: a mental health response to infection outbreak. Springer, 2019.
3. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet 2020; 395:912-920.
4. Matson JL, Minshawi NF. Early intervention for autism spectrum disorders: A critical analysis: Elsevier, 2006.
5. DeFilippis M, Wagner KD. Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents. Psychopharmacol Bull 2016; 46:18-41.
6. Beavers GA, Iwata BA, Lerman DC. Thirty years of research on the functional analysis of problem behavior. J Appl Behav Anal 2013; 46:1-21.
7. Steinman G. COVID-19 and autism. Med Hypotheses 2020; 142:109797.
8. Amaral DG, de Vries PJ. COVID-19 and autism research: perspectives from around the globe. Autism Res 2020; 13:844- 869.
9. Rodriguez KA. Maintaining Treatment Integrity in the Face of Crisis: A Treatment Selection Model for Transitioning Direct ABA Services to Telehealth. Behav Anal Pract 2020; 13:1-8.