Strategies to reduce the risk of maltreatment of children with special educational needs during the covid-19 pandemic: a systematic review

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating strategies to reduce the risk of misbehavior of children with special educational needs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The present study was a systematic review. Thus, the research findings published since the outbreak of Covid-19 (2020, 2021 and 2022) in PubMed, Springer, Scopus, ProQuest, Science direct, Google Scholar databases by searching for the words Covid-19, child abuse, educational needs, virtual learning and children were investigated. Finally, based on the inclusion criteria, out of 78 articles, 19 articles were discussed.

The results showed that compared to the data before covid-19, a significant increase in the amount of psychological aggression and physical aggression among children with special educational needs, severe lack of motivation, aggression and fear of being judged was observed. In addition, children with special educational needs had poorer mental health compared to normal children. Also, children with special educational needs of mental disorders had poorer emotional and behavioral problems and quality of life than children with other disabilities.

According to the results of this research, it can be said that protecting vulnerable children, as well as reducing the long-term consequences of deepening social, economic and health inequalities, will reduce the harm caused by Covid-19 in children with special educational needs and families.