Autism spectrum disorder during French COVID-19 lockdown: The importance of individualized support.

Aim: This observational and repeated measures study assesses the impact of the first, most restrictive, COVID-19 lockdown in France on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families.

Method: During the first COVID-19 lockdown, families of ASD children enrolled in the day-care centre of the child and adolescent psychiatry department of the Tours University Hospital were contacted weekly. A total of 95 parents took part in this study between the 18th of March and the 8th of May 2020.

[Catatonia and autism spectrum disorder].

Catatonia and its treatment in patients with autism spectrum disorders are poorly documented in the child psychiatry literature. Étienne is a 13-year-and-10-months-old adolescent who was diagnosed with autism at an early age. He presents recurrent episodes of stuporous catatonia aggravating major motor agitation type behavioural disorders.