ARU Final Report

28 Young people with disabilities’ experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic 6. Conclusions This research explored the experiences of young people with disabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Asbury et al. (2020) suggest that supporting families of children and young people with SEND to reduce their anxieties associated with the pandemic needs to be a priority for education, health and social care professionals. They note that the worry experienced by these families “appears to be substantial and serious”. Indeed, much of the literature discussed has called for collective learning from the experiences of the families of children and young people with disabilities in order to improve support now and in the future (The Disabled Children’s Partnership, 2020; Rogers et al., 2021). Our research supports this claim but goes further to stress the importance of listening to the lived experiences of children and young people with disabilities themselves in order to plan and deliver services that are appropriately matched to their needs. Dickinson and Yates (2020) note that during the pandemic it was not recognised that certain groups, including disabled people, needed more support and consideration to participate in society and therefore be viewed as equals in that society. Kavanagh et al. (2021), who compared health care provision for disabled people during the pandemic in England and Australia, support these findings and suggest that people with disabilities experienced additional challenges when faced with the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic in comparison to their peers without disabilities. Indeed, our research supports these findings in relation to the experiences of young people with disabilities in terms of practical supports including accommodation, finances, education and training, support from services, mental health including anxiety, low mood and loneliness, and contact with family and friends. Dickinson and Yates (2020) make a call for action for the Australian government to address the many inequalities faced by children and young people with disabilities and their families both during the pandemic and beyond; our research supports this call to the UK government at both central and local levels. Indeed Kavanagh et al. (2021) note that governments have been slow to react and respond to the diverse needs of those with disabilities during this time. Although the wider research calls for more evidence on the impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities, research capturing the voices of children and young people was sparse. Courtenay and Perera (2020) in their Irish research, suggest that if lessons are to be learned from this pandemic, then rigorous evidence about what works needs to be collected to empower those with disabilities in the face of future pandemics.