The Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Autistic Children and Their Families.
Autistic kids got less food help during COVID—check food security and sign families up for SNAP or WIC today.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at 2020-2021 U.S. census data. They compared the families with an autistic child to 92,000 other families. They checked who got food help (SNAP, WIC) and who skipped meals, doctor visits, or work because of money.
What they found
Autistic kids gained less food security than their peers. Their SNAP and WIC bumps were smaller. Yet their families cut medical hardship and missed work more than others. Relief helped, but not evenly.
How this fits with other research
Ouyang et al. (2014) already showed ASD-plus-ID families face the biggest money pain. Jackson et al. (2025) now adds that even broad COVID aid left those same families behind on food.
Stephens et al. (2018) found high-adversity families wait longer for autism services. The new data say those same households also drew smaller food-relief gains—another hit to the most vulnerable.
Kuenzel et al. (2021) tracked moms whose money stress forecast later depression. The 2025 paper shows the stress kept coming: smaller food gains mean hardship stayed high.
Why it matters
You now have two quick screens: ask about food runs at intake and check if the child also has ID or seizures. If either flag is up, walk the family to SNAP/WIC on the spot and loop in a social worker. One form can save weeks of hunger and missed therapy.
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Join Free →Add two intake boxes: 'Any food worries last month?' and 'SNAP/WIC active?' If no to either, hand the parent a pre-filled application before the session ends.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: We used data from the National Survey of Children's Health to (1) examine differences in economic hardship and safety net program use after the implementation of federal relief efforts, and (2) assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated autism-based disparities in hardship and program use. METHODS: We examined five dimensions of economic hardship (poverty, food insecurity, medical hardship, medical costs, and foregone work) and four safety net programs (cash assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and free or reduced-cost meals). First, we calculated adjusted prevalence and odds ratios to compare pre-COVID (2018-2019) and during COVID (2021) outcomes by autism status. Next, we calculated the adjusted odds of each outcome among autistic children compared to those of children with and without other special healthcare needs at both time points. RESULTS: COVID-19 exacerbated autism-based disparities in food insecurity, SNAP, and public health insurance, but alleviated inequities in medical hardship, foregone work, and cash assistance. Autistic children did not experience declines in food insecurity or increases in SNAP like other children; medical hardship and foregone work decreased more for autistic children; and the magnitude of autism-based differences in public coverage significantly increased during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Federal relief efforts likely improved economic outcomes of children; however, these effects varied according to type of hardship and by disability group. Efforts to promote economic well-being among autistic populations should be tailored to the financial challenges most salient to low-income autistic children, like food insecurity.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.3233/JEM-150397