How The Pandemic Has Affected Individuals With IDD

Jackson MS

12 March, 2021

10:41 AM

Description

By Communicare The pandemic has affected everyone globally. But for people with IDD who were already grappling with many limitations, COVID-19 exacerbated their challenges. As we enter the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, we’d like to help you understand how the crisis has affected individuals with intellectual and developmental disorders (IDD) to increase their health inequity. Disparities in Attention Amid COVID-19 Individuals with IDD are already at higher risk for developing health issues. And with the pandemic limiting access to health facilities and medical care as health systems were prioritized those positive for the virus, the result was disproportionate attention and disadvantages for people with IDD. According to the American Journal of Bioethics, systemic deficiencies in care for people with IDD exist despite equal treatment laws. The discrimination can be traced to the higher probability of people with IDD not having health insurance or not being enrolled in preventative services. Therefore, even before the pandemic, having poorer health outcomes due to their disabilities already placed adults with IDD at a disadvantage. Combine that with a healthcare system that was already ill-equipped to treat patients equally and without discrimination, and the outcome is a system that has isolated people with IDD and put their health and quality of life at even greater risk. The Pandemic and Increased Psychological Distress The coronavirus pandemic has also impacted the mental health of people with disabilities. Even before the pandemic, people with IDD were already at high risk of experiencing loneliness in their lives. A 2018 study that focused on loneliness in people with IDD reported that 45 percent of the observed individuals experienced loneliness. Their vulnerability to chronic loneliness comes from the feelings of being devalued and ignored. Because of stigma and social attitudes, many people with IDD experience limited emotional connectedness. The deficits in communication may also limit their social connections. With forced physical isolation due to social distancing precautions, it’s been months or even a year since some individuals with IDD have been able to physically interact with anyone outside their immediate family or living unit. Furthermore, the pandemic has also affected the mental health of the caregivers of people with IDD. The virus enforced social distancing, quarantines and lockdowns for everyone. Travel restrictions kept people from visiting family and friends. If someone with IDD was in the hospital or a care facility, it meant limited to no visitors during the height of the pandemic restrictions. The unpredictability of the pandemic has tested coping abilities amid exacerbated stress, anxiety and burnout. Not only did people with IDD struggle with their own emotional, mental and physical challenges, but they may have been living with someone in lockdown or being cared for by an individual dealing with their own issues. March is IDD Month More than three decades ago, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Today, we continue to raise awareness around adults living with IDD each March. Every year the Association for University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the National Disabilities Rights Network (NDRN) partner with the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) to promote campaigns that encourage communities to support IDD programs and policies. The goal is to raise awareness of the barriers that keep people with disabilities from becoming more connected and valued members of our diverse communities.