Coronavirus

Autism and Disability

Government

• Administration for Community Living (ACL)
  
  • Partnership with CDC to Increase Access to COVID-19 Vaccines The ACL and CDC will partner to ensure older adults and people with disabilities have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The grants will provide assistance with scheduling vaccine appointments, transportation to vaccine sites, direct support services needed to attend vaccine appointments, connection to in-home vaccination options, and education about the importance of receiving the vaccine for older adults and people with disabilities.
  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) The ACL developed this list of information and resources for older adults and people with disabilities and the organizations that serve them. Check back for ongoing updates.
  • Webinar: Ensuring Continuity of HCBS During the COVID-19 Pandemic This webinar, hosted by the ACL and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), focused on best practices in continuing access to HCBS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • ACL Announces Nearly $1 Billion in CARES Act Grants to Support Older Adults and People with Disabilities in the Community During the COVID-19 Emergency In April, the ACL issued $955 million in grants to help meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities. The grants will help fund home-delivered meals; care services in the home; respite care and other support to families and caregivers; information about and referral to supports; and more.
  • ACL/CMS Promising Practices Training: Ensuring Continuity of HCBS During the COVID-19 Pandemic The ACL and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) host a monthly Webinar series on social determinants of health and home- and community-based services (HCBS). This webinar focused on best practices for safely continuing HCBS during the COVID-19 pandemic. This page includes a recording of the webinar, slides, the transcript, and Q&As and Resources.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  
  • Vaccine Considerations for People with Disabilities This webpage provides information for people with disabilities or conditions that may increase their risk of getting and spreading COVID-19, and for their care providers.
  • Toolkit for People with Disabilities This resource includes guidance and tools to protect the health of people with disabilities. The guidance includes vaccine information, considerations for people with developmental and behavioral disorders, guidance for service providers and other caregivers, and more.
  • People with Disabilities This page identifies which disability groups may be at increased risk for COVID-19 complications and what preventive actions can be taken to prepare and protect yourself and your family.
  • COVID-19 Materials for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Care Providers The materials on this page are geared toward individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to help make communicating about COVID-19 a little easier. Choose from videos, posters, social stories, and interactive activities to best meet your communication needs.
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
  
  • Visitation at Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IIDs) and Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) - Coronavirus Disease -2019 (COVID-19) This guidance explains how and when institutions that serve people with developmental disabilities can reopen to visitors. The guidance also allows residents to participate in group activities if precautions are in place.
• National Council on Disability (NCD)
  
  • Letter to the National Governor's Association: Vaccine Allocation Andrés J. Gallegos, Esq., Chairman of the National Council on Disability, wrote to the Hon. Governor Andrew Cuomo, Chairman of the National Governors Association, about his concerns related to vaccine distribution.
  • NCD Makes Recommendations on COVID-19 Vaccine Framework The NCD submitted recommendations to the National Academies on potential plans for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine. They recommended that the framework should make it clear that distribution should not discriminate against people with disabilities. The draft framework is part of a study commissioned by the NIH and CDC.
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources and Information This page includes general information about COVID-19, civil rights concerns, social security, and more.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  
  • What We Know About COVID-19’s Effects on Child and Maternal Health NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi talk about children’s risk for getting COVID-19, the effects of the pandemic on child development, and the effects on children with disabilities.
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
  
  • Coping With Coronavirus: Support for the Autism Community In his message for Autism Awareness Month, Dr. Joshua Gordon, NIMH Director and IACC Chair, discusses how individuals with autism are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and resources available to help the community during this time.
• U.S. Department of Education (ED)
  
  • Return to School Roadmap: A Guide for K-12 Schools and Communities The Return to School Roadmap website provides guidance for schools and families on how to safely return to in-person education and how to support student success. Priorities are broken into three categories: health and safety; social, emotional, and mental health; and academic achievement. Resources include the ED COVID-19 Handbook, guidance from other federal agencies, and more.
  • COVID-19 Resources for Schools, Students, and Families The Department of Education created this page to share information on resources, guidance, and policies related to elementary and secondary education, special education and rehabilitation, higher education, civil rights, and more.
  • Questions and Answers on Civil Rights and School Reopening in the COVID-19 Environment This document describes how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other civil rights laws apply as schools return to in-person learning. The guidance addresses schools’ responsibilities to students with disabilities in remote, hybrid, and in-person situations. It includes information for K-12 schools as well as postsecondary institutions.
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
  
  • Coronavirus Information and Resources The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) created these resources to help workers and employers stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Employment Resources for People on the Autism Spectrum In honor of Autism Awareness Month 2020, ODEP developed lists of new and existing resources that can help workers on the autism spectrum, employers, service providers, and others during the pandemic.
  • COVID-19 and Disability Employment: Emerging Practices to Employ and Protect Workers This article from the monthly ODEP Business Sense Newsletter describes a policy brief that can help employers navigate issues that may arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy brief draws also highlights reasonable accommodations employers can provide to ensure equal employment opportunities and to keep people safe.
  • Employment for Persons with a Disability: Analysis of Trends During COVID-19 Pandemic This page highlights the key findings of two reports that examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced employment trends for people with and without disabilities. The briefs explore two key aspects of jobs that were associated with employment outcomes: whether it was possible to perform the job at home and whether the job required workers to be in close proximity with others.
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
  
  • Coronavirus and COVID-19 EEOC established this page to consolidate relevant COVID-19 information and to answer questions about EEO laws.
  • What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws The EEOC developed these resources to share information on the continued enforcement of workplace anti-discrimination laws during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
  
  • Distance Learning: Challenges Providing Services to K-12 English Learners and Students with Disabilities during COVID-19 The GAO released a new report on how schools fared in addressing the needs of students in special education and in providing services for English language learners during the pandemic. They found that a variety of factors that affected the delivery of special education services, such as the range of needs of students, types of services specified in Individualized Educational Plans (IEP), and the ability of parents and caregivers to help deliver services.

Private and Non-ProfitLink Disclaimer

• The Arc
  
  • COVID-19 Resources for People With Disabilities, Families, and Service Providers This page provides advocacy materials for small businesses, those facing unemployment, and families with children in special education. They also have plain language materials on COVID-19.
• Autism Society
  
  • COVID-19 This page includes resources to help the autism community deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Resources include social stories, toolkits, videos, and more.
• Autism Speaks
  
  • COVID-19 (coronavirus) information and resources Autism Speaks developed resources on COVID-19 for families, autistic adults, educators and health professionals, and non-English speakers. They have also hosted virtual events and are advocating for public policies that support the autism community.
• Autistic Self Advocacy Network
  
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet This page provides information on COVID vaccination in easy-to-understand language for people with disabilities.
• Center for Advancing Policy on Employment For Youth (CAPE-Youth)
  
  • Employment of Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities in a Recovering Economy: Lessons from the Great Recession and Considerations for Policymakers Today Economic downturns, like the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately affect the employment outcomes of youth and young adults with disabilities (Y&YAD). This brief can help guide responses by state policymakers and program administrators to support Y&YAD secure employment. This brief was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.
• The Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP)
  
  • Practice Parameters for Telehealth-Implementation of Applied Behavior Analysis: Continuity of Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic This document was created to help ABA providers develop plans to maintain continuity of care during the pandemic. The document also provides guidance on billing telehealth visits.
• Georgia Tech Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation
  
  • COVID-19 Accessible Resources The resources on this website are adapted and accessible versions of the CDC’s COIVD-19 guidance. Accessibility types include braille, assistive technology, ASL, and easy to read text. This project was funded by the CDC.
• EasterSeals
  
  • Coronavirus: Staying Healthy Together This page provides various resources that can help people with their disabilities during the pandemic. Topics include coping and mental health, staying safe, rentals and homeownership, and more. The page also includes activities and information for children.
• Johns Hopkins University Disability Health Research Center
  
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization Dashboard This tool tracks vaccine prioritization plans for four groups in the 56 U.S. states, territories, and D.C. The groups include long-term care settings, other types of congregate settings, people with chronic conditions, and additional disability-related groups. The tool also tracks what phase each state is in. It is hosted by Johns Hopkins University and the Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities.
• Organization for Autism Research
  
  • COVID-19 Updates and Resources This collection of resources includes toolkits and guides on dealing with the pandemic, webinars on navigating the challenges of the pandemic, and more.
• The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)
  
  • Get Out the Vaccine NACDD is the national association for the 56 Councils on Developmental Disabilities (DD Councils) across the United States and its territories. Their Get Out the Vaccine website provides easy-to-understand information about the safety and importance of the COVID-19 vaccination from trusted sources. The website also helps people find vaccines in their area.
• New Jersey Autism Center For Excellence (NJACE)
  
  • Podcast: COVID-19 & Its Community Impact (Part I) In this episode, high school student Adam Tseng, parent and professional at PWC Anne Tseng, and researcher Ji Hye Ryu, Ph.D. talk about their experiences navigating through the pandemic.
  • Podcast: COVID-19 & Its Community Impact (Part II) In this episode, members of the NJACE team discuss their experiences during the pandemic, from managing graduate studies to balancing work and family. The discission includes Director Dr. Elizabeth Torres, Assistant to the Director Richa Rai and Program Manager, Jen Schonger.
• Simons Foundation/SPARK
  
  • Impact of COVID 19 on Autistic Adults In the Spring of 2020, autistic adults reported significant disruptions to their social life and employment. Respondents also reported disruptions to their homelife, services or therapies, and financial security.
  • Impact of COVID 19 on Families and Children with ASD In the Spring of 2020, parents and guardians of children on the autism spectrum reported disruptions to services and daily life. Families in the Northeast reported the most disruptions. Most families reported school closures and difficulties with accessing online services.
  • Impact of COVID-19 on People with Autism and Their Caregivers Surveys of families and adults involved in the SPARK study revealed some of the impacts of the pandemic on the autism community. A follow up survey showed that parents and caregivers of children on the autism spectrum reported disruptions to their child’s special education and disability services, and both children and adults experienced disruptions to telehealth. Some parents reported that this resulted in an increase in their child’s autism-related challenges.
  • Webinar: Advocating for your Child during the COVID-19 Pandemic Gary Mayerson, J.D. discusses how to advocate for your child with autism during the pandemic and get the most out of remote learning.
  • Webinar: Autism, Parenting, and Self-Care Kristin Pleines, L.C.S.W., D.S.W., discusses how parents can manage stress and create their own self-care plans during the coronavirus pandemic.

InternationalLink Disclaimer

• World Health Organization
  
  • Disability Considerations During the COVID-19 Outbreak This report outlines protective measures and actions that can be taken to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on those with disabilities.