ARU Final Report

Full Report – May 2021 9 2. Introduction 2.1 Existing research Covid-19 and the associated restrictions on public life have had a huge impact on everyone. Young people have been particularly affected with places of education and training closed and limitations to social life. It has been suggested that people with disabilities experience a triple jeopardy in relation to Covid-19, with an increased risk from the virus itself, reduced access to their normal support and provision, and adverse social impacts as a result of restrictions (Armitage and Nellums, 2020; Reed, Meeks andSwenor, 2020; Shakespeare, Ndagire and Seketi, 2021; Toste et al., 2021). Indeed Shakespeare, Ndagire and Seketi (2020, p.1332) state: “Inadequate preparedness for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with disabilities has been shockingly familiar. People with disabilities have been overlooked or are an afterthought in the education provision for children with special educational needs, the provision of personal protective equipment in social care, or the inclusion of sign language in government announcements.” There has been a severe lack of data on the impact of Covid-19 on people with disabilities (Reed, Meeks and Swenor, 2020). Research that has looked at people with disabilities during the pandemic has tended to focus on adults and neglects the experiences of young people (Lebrasseur et al., 2021; Toste et al., 2021). A recent review of the literature relating to Covid-19 and people with physical disabilities found that despite their greater vulnerability, there is a major lack of evidence about the impact of Covid-19 on children with physical disabilities (Lebrasseur et al., 2021), and this appears to be the case for young people