Posted on: 22 May 2020
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership (WY&H HCP) are working with Inclusion North, a specialist organisation that aims to raise awareness of the barriers to inclusion for people with a learning disability or autism and their families, to find out more about the impact of Covid-19 on adult lives. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. WY&H HCP covers Bradford district and Craven, Calderdale, Harrogate, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.
The coronavirus outbreak is having an impact on everybody’s life. Social distancing means that most events are cancelled, schools are closed, and people must work from home when they can. This is hard for everyone, and for some autistic people this could trigger intense stress and lead to a meltdown or a shut down.
The eight week project which started in May, is working with specialist organisations from across the area including, People First, Equality Together, Specialist Autism Services, Advonet, Autism Plus, Support 2 Recovery , Cloverleaf, The Society 4 Neurodiversity and Keyring. Their role is to contact people with autism who live fairly independent lives in their own homes or shared housing etc. who might not have the support networks of family and carers. They are asking people how they can be better supported during the pandemic with the aim to reduce the risk of self-harm and self-neglect by connecting them with local community support.
Dr Sara Munro, CEO Lead for WY&H HCP Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism; and CEO for Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘Stay-at-home and social distancing guidance can be particularly challenging for people living with autism. Many are facing emotional distress at the changes brought forth by the COVID-19 outbreak which has restricted access to usual and familiar support networks and activities that keep them well. I am pleased we have adopted a proactive approach with our partners to reach out to people in our communities that otherwise would not be able to access support to keep them safe and well’.
WY&H HCP wants to ensure more people are supported and receive the right level of care. It is an ambition set out in their ‘Delivering better health and wellbeing for everyone, five year plan’ to achieve a 10% reduction in the gap in life expectancy between people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities and/or autism and other groups of people by 2024.
Research led by Autistica (2020) highlights that people with autism were more likely to be socially isolated even before Covid-19. From confusion about government guidance, supermarket shopping and where they can access help, evidence suggests that people living with autism are impacted more now than ever before due to Covid-19 - leaving many coping with the upheaval.
Karen Parry Chief Executive at Inclusion North said: ‘This project is so important because we know that Covid-19 doesn’t affect all people’s lives equally. Different groups of people are at much bigger risk of being isolated, finding it hard to understand the Government’s guidance and not knowing where to go for support. This project aims to make sure that local neuro divergent people feel well supported and know how to stay safe and well during this very difficult time’.
Angie Balmer, Yorkshire and Humber Operational Delivery Network for Autism and Learning Disability hosted by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, who is autistic and a founding member of The Society 4 Neurodiversity said: ‘Autistic people and people with ADHD or a learning disability, think, sense and process the world differently, so it is really important that a service exists to make sure people with neuro diverse conditions, such as autism, ADHD and learning disability understand the current guidance so they can stay safe and well. It is great that this project provides them with the opportunity to connect with other neuro divergent people that can provide a sense of belonging. Organisations can also help them to access support from other organisations when they need practical help’.
You can find out more about Keeping People Connected at: https://
ENDS