Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a persistent, negative, and disproportionate
impact on children with disabilities. Children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) may
be expected to experience a disproportionate impact given the deficits often associated
with childhood TBI (e.g., family functioning, fatigue, executive functioning, quality
of life). This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children
with TBI and their families, compared to typically developing (TD) children and their
families. Thirty caregivers (TBI = 15; TD = 15) completed a series of electronic survey
measures. Overall, caregivers reported no negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
on their family's or child's functioning and association with demographic factors
and domains of functioning showed no clear patterns. The findings of this exploratory
study support continued longitudinal investigation with larger sample sizes of the
provision of supports for all families and children in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional research is needed to understand the effectiveness of targeted services
for students with TBI in domains of functioning that are significantly poorer than
TD children (e.g., quality of life, executive functioning, fatigue).
Keywords
brain injury - COVID-19 - executive functioning - fatigue - family - quality of life
