How Covid-19 affects the lives of people with autism

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that usually appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, self-regulation, and affects people differently and to varying degrees.

Many parents with autistic children like to keep a routine schedule to help make tasks easier, but the pandemic changed everyone's lives meaning many of those schedules had to change too.

It's important to remember that every autistic person is different, and they will all have different reactions to situations.  Some autistic children excel in school and may find online school easier since they won't have to have contact with other students.

While others might need more help in school and will struggle with being stuck behind a screen all day. People with autism may also feel as though their senses are amplified and may not like when people touch them.

This could mean that in-person school may be easier since they have to remain 6 feet apart, but they may struggle with keeping their masks on. In her rooted in rights article, “I'm Autistic. Here's Why I Think Social Distancing Should Be Respected, Regardless of COVID-19” , Lindy Treec says, “...The CDC has recommended that people stay at least six feet apart and practice social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19. Easy enough, I thought. I do it all the time.”

The pandemic has also affected the lives of parents with autistic children. With online school, they may need to learn new ways to teach their children. Therapies such as speech and social skills have also moved online, which means they will have to learn how to explain what the therapist is saying to their children, thus becoming a second therapist for their children.

It could have also messed up parents' work schedules since their children are no longer at school, and they have to stay at home to take care of them.

This pandemic has caused many people's lives to change, and many people have been okay with those changes, but for people with autism it may take longer to adjust to those changes, and people need to give them the time and space to adjust to those changes.