The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical, Social and Emotional Well-Being in a Cohort of Children With Disabilities in the United States.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the daily lives of all individuals. Research is limited in how children with disabilities (CWD) in the United States (U.S.) have been affected by the pandemic socially or emotionally, or if they are obtaining the recommended 60 min of daily physical activity.

Objective: Evaluate (a) the social, behavioural and psychological changes of CWD during the pandemic, (b) whether CWD are reaching the recommended 60 min of daily physical activity and (c) how the social vulnerability index (SVI) impacts these variables.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey study of parents of CWD at two rehabilitation hospitals.

Results: A total of 118 surveys were completed. Child's mean age was 9.5 ± 5.1 years; 49 (41.5%) were female; 67 (56.9%) were male. Seventy-one (60.2%) respondents agreed the pandemic has negatively affected their child's well-being, and 83 (70.3%) cited their child is more socially isolated. All respondents cited behavioural changes in their child. Eighty-seven (73.7%) children are leaving the house less, with 31 (26.3%) children completing 60 min of daily physical activity. The main barrier was concern for COVID transmission (n = 76, 64.4%). There were no differences between SVI risk groups for access to therapy at school (p = 0.56), therapy outside of school (p = 0.44), medical follow-up (p = 0.91), access to psychological services (p = 0.21), amount of physical activity (p = 0.41), well-being (p = 0.89), or social isolation (p = 0.85).

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the social, emotional, and physical well-being of CWD, with the majority not reaching daily physical activity recommendations.