EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL ISOLATION BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON PARENTING, THERAPEUTIC PRACTICES AND HOME EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER/ AVALIACAO DO IMPACTO DO ISOLAMENTO SOCIAL PELA PANDEMIA DE COVID-19 NA PARENTALIDADE, PRATICAS TERAPEUTICAS E DE EDUCACAO DOMICILIAR DE CRIANCAS E ADOLESCENTES COM TRANSTORNO DO ESPECTRO AUTISTA/EVALUACION DEL IMPACTO DEL AISLAMIENTO SOCIAL POR LA PANDEMIA COVID-19 EN LA CRIANZA, PRACTICAS TERAPEUTICAS Y EDUCACIO

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, with the imperative of social isolation and suspension of educational activities and other activities considered non- essential, breaks with a complex network of educational and health strategies that make the academic development of children possible and adolescents with ASD. ASD are portrayed as conditions with different degrees of severity and symptoms, characterized by disorders in the areas of communication and social interaction and by the presence of restricted, stereotyped and repetitive behaviors and interests. Understanding the impact of this isolation on patients with ASD is essential for us to have more effective therapeutic and educational management strategies for this population. It is worth noting that autistic children and adolescents find it difficult to understand the pandemic scenario and all the ramifications resulting from COVID-19, which has a great impact on this population. Objectives: To assess the impact of social isolation due to the COVID-19 epidemic on parenting, distance education practices and the treatment of children and adolescents with ASD compared to children without this specificity. Methodology: Parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with ASD were invited to answer an online questionnaire. The same questionnaire (except for specific parts for the disorders) were applied to parents and caregivers of children and adolescents without problems in these areas in order to generate control of responses. Respondents were reached through replication of the invitation by health professionals linked to the two research collaborating associations. The 1,032 questionnaires answered were analyzed to obtain data in descriptive and analytical statistics of variables related to parenting, therapy and distance education. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic had impacts on parenting, education and symptomatology of patients with ASD when compared to the control group, that is, neurotypical children and adolescents. Among the symptoms, we can observe that what had the most impact on our sample was the worsening of the sleep pattern, worsening of the quality of food, increased aggressiveness and also parental fights. Conclusions: In the face of the pandemic scenario, there was an imbalance in the treatment and also in the follow-up of children and adolescents with autism, because due to quarantine and social isolation, many treatment modules, as well as educational ones, had to be interrupted and