Abstract

  The COVID-19 pandemic has devastating effects on the lives of the children and their families who have member with an intellectual disability. In such a distressing situation and uncertainties due to the pandemic, the relationships among the family members can become unpleasant, affecting support and cohesiveness within the family, which may have a negative effect on the child. Lack of support and socialization of these families, lead to a stress among them especially for the immediate carers. In a lockdown situation, their routine is disrupted and the parents have to pay extra attention to care for the child. Some of the strategies that are proven to be helpful for the children with an intellectual disability and their families are accessing reliable and trusted information on COVID-19, allowing the child to express his/her feelings by engaging them in different activities, open and supportive interaction among family members, and maintaining the structured daily routine that they followed before the pandemic. The educators/trainers/staffs of the school must remain in touch with the family and inquiring from them “how they are”. Telephonic or video -conferencing counseling and coaching can be offered to the family members and some important tips to overcome the stressors can be discussed. Hence, during lockdown, individualized home programs that can be carried out by family members with the child with an intellectual disability are a good way to ensure the child continues to develop their cognitive, movement, play and self-help skills. Moreover, the government cash transfer assistance should also reach those vulnerable families who have the children with disabilities. It may bring some relief to the families who are struggling to balance their finances to ensure meeting the basic needs.

Keywords: Intellectual Disability; Family Support; COVID-19

References

1. Coyne LW., et al. “First things first: Parent psychological flexibility and self-compassion during COVID-19”. Behavior Analysis in Practice (2020): 1.
2. Zuna NI., et al. “Family quality of life in intellectual and developmental disabilities: a support-based framework”. International Public Health Journal2 (2014): 161.
3. Blue-Banning M and Turnbull AP. “Hispanic youth /young adults with disabilities: Parents’ vision for the future”. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities3 (2002): 204-219.
4. Crnic KA., et al. “Intellectual disability and developmental risk: Promoting intervention to improve child and family well‐being”. Child Development2 (2017): 436-445.
5. Eisenhower AS., et al. “Preschool children with intellectual disability: syndrome specificity, behaviour problems, and maternal well‐being”. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research9 (2005): 657-671.
6. Luijkx J., et al. “Time use of parents raising children with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities”. Child: Care Health and Development4 (2017): 518-526.
7. Lippold T and Burns J. “Social support and intellectual disabilities: A comparison between social networks of adults with intellectual disability and those with physical disability”. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 53 (2009): 463-473.
8. Postan D., et al. “Family quality of life: A qualitative inquiry”. Mental Retardation5 (2003): 313-328.
9. Collins PY., et al. “Global services and support for children with developmental delays and disabilities: Bridging research and policy gaps”. PLoS Medicine9 (2017): e1002393.
10. Usher K., et al. “Family violence and COVID‐19: Increased vulnerability and reduced options for support”. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (2020).
11. Campbell AM. “An increasing risk of family violence during the Covid-19 pandemic: Strengthening community collaborations to save lives”. Forensic Science International: Reports (2020): 100089.
12. Chandan JS., et al. “COVID-19: a public health approach to manage domestic violence is needed”. The Lancet Public Health6 (2020): e309.
13. Douglas M., et al. “Mitigating the wider health effects of covid-19 pandemic response”. British Medical Journal 369 (2020): m1557.
14. Fegert JM., et al. “Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality”. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 14 (2020): 1-11.
15. Hina AH., et al. “Parental satisfaction with life and perceived social support of parents of children with intellectual disability”. International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research2 (2016): 398-402.
16. Azar M and Badr LK. “Predictors of coping in parents of children with an intellectual disability: comparison between Lebanese mothers and fathers”. Journal of Pediatric Nursing1 (2010): 46-56.
17. Beighton C and Wills J. “Are parents identifying positive aspects to parenting their child with an intellectual disability or are they just coping? A qualitative exploration”. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities4 (2017): 325-345.
18. Sheikh MH., et al. “Psychiatric morbidity, perceived stress and ways of coping among parents of children with intellectual disability in Lahore, Pakistan”. Cureus2 (2018).
19. Lardieri LA., et al. “Sibling relationships and parent stress in families of children with and without learning disabilities”. Learning Disability Quarterly 23 (2000): 105-116.
20. United Nations. Policy Brief: A Disability-Inclusive Response to COVID-19 (2020).
21. Courtenay K and Perera B. “COVID-19 and People with Intellectual Disability: impacts of a pandemic”. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine (2020): 1-21.
22. Mencap: The Voice of Learning Disability. Information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) (2020).
23. Kids: Giving Disabled Children a Brighter Future. Coronavirus: Useful information for the parents and Carers (2020).
24. World Health Organization. “Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak” (2020).
25. Narzisi A. “Handle the autism spectrum condition during Coronavirus (COVID-19) stay at home period: Ten tips for helping parents and caregivers of young children”. Brain Science4 (2020): 207.
26. Wuang YP., et al. “Occupational therapy home program for children with intellectual disabilities: A randomized, controlled trial”. Research in Developmental Disabilities1 (2013): 528-537.
27. Rickards AL., et al. “A randomized, controlled trial of a home-based intervention program for children with autism and developmental delay”. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics4 (2007): 308-316.
28. McLaughlin D Adams., et al. “Factors which enhance or inhibit social support: A mixed-methods analysis of social networks in older women”. Ageing and Society1 (2011): 18-33.
29. Imran N., et al. “Frequency of ICD-10 psychiatric diagnosis in children with intellectual disability in Lahore, Pakistan and Caregivers Perspective”. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences2 (2015): 285.
30. World Bank in Pakistan: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) response (2020).

Citation

Citation: Arusa Lakhani., et al. “Supporting Families having a Child with Intellectual Disability in COVID-19 Pandemic". Acta Scientific Paediatrics 3.10 (2020): 42-46.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Arusa Lakhani., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.