The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting all Americans. SafeMinds specifically recognizes the unique needs and challenges of the autism community during this unprecedented time. Our goal is to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on families by regularly monitoring and sharing resources that may help children and adults with autism cope with the uncertainty of the pandemic.
Special Needs Caregivers Describe More Negative Effects From Pandemic Versus Non-Caregivers
A new report issued from the National Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support at the University of Pittsburgh found that caregivers of individuals with special needs are more likely to experience health and financial difficulties since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh conducted a survey of caregivers from April 15 to May 27 and found that sixty-three percent faced an increase in responsibilities since stay at home orders began.
Participate in Autism Research: ASD COVID-19 Study
The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development is conducting an online, questionnaire based study to address the psychosocial and behavioral impact of COVID-19 on children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study includes questions about the level of supports and services your child received at the beginning of 2020 and compares with the time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Disability Community Balks at Senate Republican’s HEALS Act
On July 27, Senate Republicans introduced components of the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act. Their $1 trillion proposal aims to provide additional coronavirus economic relief for Americans beyond the assistance provided by last March’s CARES Act, which unfortunately, did not include disabled adults in its stimulus payments.
COVID-19 Autism Resource Round-Up
The majority of American families have been at home for weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At present time, there is no definitive end date for these orders. Signs point to individual states using a slow roll technique in order to re-open, which means a large number of autism families will continue to be at home for an indeterminate amount of time. In order to support special needs families during this challenging time, SafeMinds has assembled a comprehensive list of resources to make life at home more manageable. These resources have been broken down into different categories. Most categories include several links, giving many options to see what works best for your special needs family member.
U.S. Schools Ask Congress for IDEA Liability Protections
Fears Rising of Massive Special Education Litigation As the coronavirus pandemic continues, students with disabilities and their families are facing the rapidly approaching fall semester with reservations, as many of these families suffered through enormous difficulties last spring while trying to implement special education programs remotely. These families are now left to wonder if the […]
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities May Suffer More Severe COVID Outcomes
As the global pandemic continues to grow, concerning news originating from SUNY Upstate Medical University shows that COVID-19 appears to pose a greater threat to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The report published in Disability and Health Journal set out to compare COVID-19 outcomes among people with and without IDD through three different age spans.
