Children and young people with SEND typically access support from multiple services, many of which were disrupted by the pandemic ( Jeste et al., 2020). Awareness of COVID-19 and parents with greater anxiety predicted higher reported anxiety levels for individuals with SEND.įamilies have also been impacted by changes and/or interruptions in their access to education and health services. Data in relation to individuals across a wide age-range (1–45 years) including a range of diagnoses and a high prevalence of intellectual disabilities (76%), indicated raised anxiety in children with SEND in the first few months of the pandemic, as compared with their siblings. (2022a) compared parental report of anxiety and worries for their child with SEND ( n = 407) and their neurotypical siblings to examine how COVID-19 measures affected young people with SEND differently. A survey of 415 parents/carers carried out in April 2020 in a region of England reported by O’Hagan and Kingdom (2020) found that 65% were physically and mentally exhausted, and 51% reported increased anxiety and depression. Data collected at a similar time provides further evidence to suggest parents/carers of CYP with SEND were directly affected by COVID-19 measures. In data collected early in the first United Kingdom lockdown (March–April 2020) parents of children with SEND reported raised levels of anxiety, stress and low mood in both themselves and their children, in addition to fears and worries specifically related to their child’s SEND ( Asbury et al., 2021). These measures continued until December 2021 ( Institute for Government Analysis, 2022).Įvidence suggests that CYP with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND, an accepted term used in education in the United Kingdom) and their families may have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 measures. In the United Kingdom, measures were introduced from March 2020 resulting in school closures and national and regional lockdowns, reducing time spent outside of home and interactions with others outside of immediate families. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact across the globe, including increased levels of anxiety and stress in the population ( Salari et al., 2020 Shevlin et al., 2020) and consequences for the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people (CYP) ( Ma et al., 2021 Racine et al., 2021). These findings have implications for the support that is now needed for CYP with Down syndrome and their families and for periods of social restrictions in the future. Preferences for support during COVID-19 were for professional support or from other parents. Parents reported challenges with home-schooling and reductions in support from education and community services. Deterioration in social and emotional wellbeing and behavior, including greater reliance on adults were also reported for some CYP with Down syndrome. Parents/carers frequently reported deterioration in speech, language and communication, literacy and attention skills since the onset of the pandemic. Forty-six parents/carers of CYP with Down Syndrome (aged 2–25 years) completed an online survey between June and September 2020. This study investigated the impact of measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people (CYP) with Down syndrome in the United Kingdom, specifically changes in speech, language and communication abilities, behavior, social, emotional and mental health and access to education and healthcare services. Evidence suggests children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their families experienced impacts on well-being and disruptions in support from education and health services. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact across the globe. 3Institute for Health Research, University of Bedfordshire, University Square, Luton, United Kingdom.2School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom.1School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.Emma Pagnamenta 1 *, Penny Hodgkinson 2, Rosemary Davidson 3 and Victoria L.
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