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The Loneliest Lockdown: The Impact of the Pandemic on the Families of Disabled Children, their Parents and Siblings: Survey 2.
Lunt, Cath.
Disabled Children's Partnership.
Pears Foundation.
Technical Report
10 p.
Copyright
Published: March 2021
Disabled Children's Partnership
Mencap National Centre
123 Golden Lane
London, EC1Y 0RT, England
disabledchildrens.partnership@mencap.org.uk
Available From:https://disabledchildrenspartnership.org.uk/
Download: https://disabledchildrenspartnership.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Loneliest-Lockdown.pdf
The results of the second survey of our Parent Panel reveals that disabled children and their families are at risk of developing serious mental health issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The levels of anxiety, isolation and poor mental wellbeing reported are higher compared to the rest of the population. Over 90% of disabled children are socially isolated, with 49% of disabled children not seeing a friend in the last month either online or in person. This sadly isn’t limited to children, with three in five parents also socially isolated. This isolation has had a painful impact on the development of life skills in disabled children. Around half of parents highlighted a negative impact on skills, such as being out and about, communicating with others and interacting with strangers. As a result, both parents and children are continuing to experience poor emotional wellbeing. On average six out of ten parents are observing symptoms associated with anxiety. 72% of parents report that their child is often unhappy, downhearted or tearful. Their siblings are also affected with a high proportion of parents reporting that their other children are having negative issues regarding sleep and anxiety. This research serves as a stark reminder of why the Government desperately needs to implement a COVID-19 recovery plan for disabled children, young people and their families. (Author abstract modified)
Keywords:
COVID-19; DISASTER RESPONSE; CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES; DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES; PHYSICAL DISABILITIES; SPECIAL NEEDS; MENTAL HEALTH; DEPRESSION; ANXIETY; STRESS; POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; PARENTAL STRESS; SOCIAL ISOLATION; FAMILY SUPPORT SYSTEMS; RISK FACTORS; CHILDREN AT RISK; WELL BEING; UNITED KINGDOM