ASD support for children returning home after evacuation due to the Fukushima nuclear incident following the Great East Japan Earthquake

• Project/Area Number: 17K14057
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Special needs education
• Research Institution: Fukushima University
• Principal Investigator: Kawashima Keiko 福島大学, 子どものメンタルヘルス支援事業推進室, 研究員 (10773939)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
• Keywords: 発達障害 / 自閉症スペクトラム / 東日本大震災 / 原発事故 / 保護者支援 / 帰還 / 震災支援 / 子育て / ASD / 自閉スペクトラム症

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We administered questionnaire aconcerning “mental health and support needs” survey to children with developmental disabilities who were evacuated after the Fukushima nuclear accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake and their guardians. Forty-six families (46 guardians/56 children) participated in the survey for three consecutive years. For comparison, 44 unevacuated families (44 guardians/51 children) living in Fukushima inland areas participated in the survey.
We found that environmental factors associated with children’s difficulties depended on the each year : in 2017, the difficulty was “neighborhood/local support”, in 2018, “ease of school facility use”/“support within the home”, and in 2019 “daily life noises”. The results also suggested the importance of support for the guardians, not just for the children

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

大規模震災後の長期的避難と「帰還・生活再建」伴う子育て環境の変化が,発達障害の子どもにどのような影響を及ぼすのか,またどのような支援ニーズがあるかについての検討は十分になされていない。現在の福島県の喫緊の課題であり,今後の大規模震災時の発達障害特性に配慮した支援体制整備にも役立つことが期待される。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] 福島第一原子力発電所事故後の避難生活における発達障害児とその保護者へのメンタルヘルス支援に関する検討 (2019)
  • Author(s): 川島慶子
  • Journal Title: 大正大学大学院研究論集 Volume: 43 Pages: 254-268
  • NAID: 120006633004
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Presentation] 小学校における発達の気になる子どもの実態と その支援に関する研究 (2019)
  • Author(s): 川島慶子,内山登紀夫
  • Organizer: 第54回日本発達障害学会研究大会
• [Presentation] 東日本大震災後の福島県沿岸部の学校における子どもの支援ニーズの検討 ～ ５年間の調査結果から ～ (2018)
  • Author(s): 川島慶子,内山登紀夫
  • Organizer: 第59回日本児童青年精神医学会
• [Presentation] The return from evacuation and the support needs of ASD children and their families after the Fukushima nuclear accident (2018)
  • Author(s): T. Uchiyama, K. Kawashima, Y. Karatani
  • Organizer: 23rd World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 東日本大震災後の福島県のASDのある子どもとその保護者への支援の検討 (2018)
  • Author(s): 川島慶子 内山登紀夫 福留さとみ
  • Organizer: 第17回日本トラウマティック・ストレス学会