Longitudinal Impact of the Pandemic on Social Disruption and Loneliness in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth

Objective The coronavirus pandemic drastically increased social isolation. Autistic youth already experience elevated social isolation and loneliness, making them highly vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic. We examined trajectories of social disruption and loneliness in autistic and non-autistic youth during a six-month period of the pandemic (June 2020 until November 2020).