The Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Clinical and Scientific Priorities
The American Journal of Psychiatry | By John N. Constantino, M.D., Mustafa Sahin, M.D., Ph.D., Joseph Piven, M.D., Rylin Rodgers, B.S., and John Tschida, M.P.P | Fri August 28th, 2020
The goal of this communication is to provide clinicians and behavioral scientists with a scoping perspective on the diverse array of effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States.
People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Disproportionately Affected by COVID-19
National Institutes of Health | Fri August 28th, 2020
A large number of people with IDD who require in-person care have lost the support of trained caregivers and community service providers due to the pandemic.
States Pressured To Remove Disability Bias From Medical Care Guidelines
disabilityscoop | By Shaun Heasley | Fri August 21st, 2020
In what is being called a national precedent, yet another state is agreeing to change its approach to providing medical care during the pandemic in order to prevent disability discrimination.
One Man’s COVID-19 Death Raises the Worst Fears of Many People with Disabilities
NPR | By Joseph Shapiro | Fri July 31st, 2020
Melissa Hickson says her husband was denied potentially lifesaving treatment because doctors at the hospital made a decision based on their biases that, because of his disabilities, Michael Hickson had a low quality of life.
Feds Fail to Track COVID-19 At Institutions
disabilityscoop.com | By Michelle Diament | Mon August 10th, 2020
Most states are not collecting data on COVID-19 cases at institutions serving people with developmental disabilities or, if they are, they are not making the data public, Barkoff said.
Coronavirus: sixteen times more lethal for kids with intellectual disabilities
downsyndromeprenataltesting.com | By Mark Leach | Tues June 9th, 2020
Four studies about the effects of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities all conclude the same thing: its effects are more severe and lethal for these patients.
Thousands sick from COVID-19 in homes for the disabled
APNews.com | By Holbrook Mohr, Mitch Weiss and Reese Dunklin | Wed June 10, 2020
The outbreak in Ludeman shows the threat of the pandemic to a highly vulnerable population that is flying almost completely under the radar: The developmentally and intellectually disabled. While nursing homes have come under the spotlight, little attention has gone toward facilities nationwide that experts have estimated house more than 275,000 people with conditions such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism.
Hospitals Told To Allow Visitors For Individuals With Disabilities
Disability Scoop | By Michelle Diament | Wed June 10, 2020
In a move that advocates say has national implications, federal officials are clarifying that hospital no-visitor policies must have exceptions for needed support people for those with disabilities.
COVID-19 has created an immediate crisis for people with developmental disabilities
NJ.com | By Alisha Glover | Wed May 27, 2020
We’ve heard about our overwhelmed hospital systems and the doctors on hospital frontlines. We’ve heard about aging Americans and the professionals on nursing home frontlines. But what we haven’t heard about are people with disabilities — specifically those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) — and the direct support professionals (DSPs) on the frontlines.
People With Disabilities Face Additional Challenges During The Pandemic
NPR | By Joseph Shapiro | Tues May 19, 2020
NPR's investigations correspondent and Jennifer Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, answers listener questions about people with disabilities navigating the new reality during the pandemic.
The Virus Has No Boundaries: How COVID-19 Affects People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
United Hospital Fund | By Ron Colavito and Arthur Y. Webb | Mon May 18, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, delivered a sobering take on how long the coronavirus outbreak would last: “You don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline.”
Hospital Visitor Bans Under Scrutiny After Disability Groups Raise Concerns Over Care
NPR | By Joseph Shapiro | Sun May 17, 2020
When Mary Henderson, a 63-year-old woman with Down syndrome, died in a Boston-area hospital last month, her family says she was confused and alone. Her siblings wanted it to be different.
She had tested negative for COVID-19, but the hospital set tight restrictions on visitors, a step common in states and hospitals around the country, to prevent the spread of the virus.
‘It’s Hit Our Front Door’: Homes for the Disabled See a Surge of Covid-19
The New York Times | By Danny Hakim| Wed April 8, 2020
The call came on March 24. Bob McGuire, the executive director of CP Nassau, a nonprofit group that cares for the developmentally disabled, received a report from a four-story, colonnaded building in Bayville, N.Y., that houses several dozen residents with severe disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to autism. For many of them, discussions of social distancing or hand washing are moot.
“Bob, we’re starting to see symptoms,” Mr. McGuire was told.
A 33-year-old, self-advocate & member of the Louisiana governor's staff dies of coronavirus complications
CNN | By Madeline Holcombe | Sun March 29, 2020
(CNN)A 33-year-old member of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' staff has died due to complications from coronavirus.
April Dunn served in the governor's office of disability affairs.
"It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of our dear April," Edwards said in a statement Saturday. "She brightened everyone's day with her smile, was a tremendous asset to our team and an inspiration to everyone who met her."
Dunn served as the chair of the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council and was a part of the State As A Model Employer Taskforce, Edwards said in the statement…
‘I Will Not Apologize for My Needs’
The New York Times | By Ari Ne’eman | Mon March 23, 2020
Even in a crisis, doctors should not abandon the principle of nondiscrimination.
Times of crisis ask us who we are as a country. As hospitals prepare for shortages in ventilators and other scarce medical resources, many people with disabilities are worried about the answer to that question…
People With Disabilities Say Rationing Care Policies Violate Civil Rights
NPR | By Joseph Shapiro | Mon March 23, 2020
People with disabilities are asking the federal government to stop what they say are policies by states and hospitals that will ration care — and deny them treatment for the coronavirus.
On Monday, several disability groups filed a complaint against the state of Washington, one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic…