The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, wellbeing, and access to services of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Keep telehealth on standby for adults with IDD—crisis surges in unplanned contacts are real and manageable online.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rosencrans et al. (2021) tracked unplanned online support contacts for adults with IDD during COVID-19. They used the Dutch DigiContact service before and after lockdown began.
The team counted how many adults reached out for help and whether staff could meet the need.
What they found
Unplanned online contacts jumped when COVID-19 hit. Staff handled the surge and adults kept getting help.
Remote support proved flexible enough to meet rising needs.
How this fits with other research
Bentenuto et al. (2021) saw the opposite in Italian children with NDD. Lockdown cut therapy access and stress rose. The clash fades when you note age: kids lost services, adults gained online help.
Taddei et al. (2020) also found rapid telehealth uptake for children in Milan. Together these studies show remote care works for both age groups, but only if the service stays open.
Patton et al. (2020) urged the field to keep telehealth after the crisis. Margaret’s data give the proof: demand spikes are real and manageable online.
Why it matters
Keep a telehealth line open for your adult clients with IDD. When the next crisis hits, they will seek help in surges. Online systems let you meet the wave without extra office space or travel time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 outbreak, service providers in the Netherlands had to switch towards providing remote support for people with intellectual disabilities living independently. This study aims to provide insight into the use of online support during the outbreak. METHODS: We analysed quantitative data on planned and unplanned contacts between the online support service DigiContact and its service users. RESULTS: The results indicate that the COVID-19 outbreak and the related containment measures had a strong impact on online support use, specifically on the unplanned use of online support. CONCLUSION: Offering online support as a standard component of services for independently living people with intellectual disability enables service providers to be flexible and responsive towards fluctuations in both support needs and onsite support availability during a social crisis such as COVID-19.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1111/jir.12770