Whilst the government took steps to introduce distance learning/online learning for the
school going population, these measures did not work for many Autistic children,
particularly those with a co-occurring diagnosis. A 2024 publication by the National
Council for Special Education noted a research study conducted in 2021 on the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of children with additional educational
needs. This research highlighted “89.3 percent of schools reported a detrimental impact
on students with additional educational needs”. This impact was captured at the time by
our community support team who were providing direct information and advice to
community members during this time.

Many of the parent’s engaging with our service referenced the impact of school closures
on their Autistic child, with daily reports of regression and meltdowns taking place,
especially when the limited supports provide to families was not working effectively or
were not appropriate. In a recent publication by the CSO (March 2025) Covid-19- Our
Lives Five Years On: Interrupted Education, it was noted that “parents with a child
attending a special school in March 2020 are most likely (82%) to report that school
closures have had a negative impact on their child’s social development”.

School closures had a particularly damaging impact on Autistic children and young
people. Not only were educational routines disrupted, but critical therapies and supports
delivered in schools were withdrawn. The deployment of staff from disability services into
broader healthcare roles compounded the problem, leaving families without specialist
supports at a time when they were most needed. The in-school therapies programme was
withdrawn during the pandemic and has not since been restored fully. Although there is
now an active pilot among 45 special schools, there has been a shortfall in meeting the
educational needs of Autistic children across the education system since the withdrawal
of the supports over five years ago.

The impact of school closures on our Autistic student population is still something
families and individuals are working through today. During this period, AsIAm was actively
pursuing a campaign to have special schools re-open (advocating for key staff within
these educational settings being offered the first opportunity to get vaccinated to
mitigate against the spread of the virus) so that our community members who were worst
impacted by school closures could try and regain the lost knowledge and skillset during
this period of time. Given what we know now, there is significant learning to be applied if
we find ourselves in the unfortunate position of another pandemic in relation to school
closures for those who require access to a special school or an autism class.

Disability Services
Prior to the pandemic in 2020, access to children’s disability services was limited and
under resourced with a significant wait time experienced by families waiting on an autism
assessment and access to key supports. When the pandemic hit, children’s disability
services were effectively shut down and restricted within a short period of time with key
clinicians and therapist redeployed to support with swabbing within our test centres. This
seismic redeployment directly impacted on the wide-ranging needs of the Autistic
community and wider disabled community with families no longer in a position to get
access to appropriate supports (including therapeutic and social). Several parliamentary
questions issued during this time highlighted the impact the withdrawal of services had
an Autistic people. It was evidenced by organisation such as AsIAm, et al, the little impact
clinical/therapeutic phone consultations had on children who were non-speaking or who
had other communication differences.

The withdrawal and abrupt stoppage of these services gave the impression that autism
was something Autistic people and families could just park. This was the reality for many
Autistic people at this time. The abrupt closure of key therapeutic and social supports
has had a lasting negative impact on our current Children’s Disability Network Team’s
(CDNT’s) as some staff within these divisions did not return to their previous posts due to
a variety of reasons including long-term covid illness. This has led to ongoing chronic
issues within our CDNT’s. Not only was it children and young people impacted by these
disruptions, but so to for those who were engaged with Adult Disability Services.
The closure of day services for disabled adults was another major decision taken by the
National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) at this time. Disabled people at this
time were identified by NPHET as a vulnerable group and as a result were deemed to be
at a higher risk of contracting the Covid-19. Measures were introduced, such as
online/tele supports with limited direct support; however, the type and number of
services varied across the country and were at a much-reduced level of support than precovid.
Part of this reduction was due to the redeployment of key staff to covid-19 test centres.
In early July 2020, 4 months after the announcement of day services closing the
HSE published the ‘Guidance to Support the Framework for the Resumption of Adult
Disability Day Services’. This document allowed for services to finalise plans for the
reopening of day service locations for disabled people. Unlike the budget allocated to
support the opening of schools (€375 million), the guidance to support the resumption of
disability services was not accompanied by a commitment of government financial
support initially. The impact of these closures and the incremental timelines on reopening
had a devasting impact on service users who relied, depended on and required these services.

Mental Health and Wellbeing
The long-term closure of the school system during Covid-19 had particularly severe
consequences on the mental health of Autistic individuals and families. This heightened
sense of anxiety and distress was compounded by the fact that many services of support
were withdrawn from Autistic people and families. Notwithstanding the fact that the
services provided to individuals and families prior to the pandemic were insufficient. A
2020 (O’Sullivan et al) study with 48 families with children who have additional needs
noted the impact of the pandemic on children and young people’s mental health. Higher
levels of stress, anxiety and depression were noted. The author of this study noted
“autistic children and adolescents faced mental health challenges attributable to the
changes in routine necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic”. Asbury et al., (2021)
suggest that the abrupt closure of schools caused mental health challenges for children
with additional educational needs. These presentations married with the experience of
our community support team, who again fielded many questions from Autistic individual
and families about the impact the Covid-19 restrictions placed on Autistic people, from
loss of routine, predictability, structure and opportunity. The experience of these
measures greatly impacted on the experience of isolation for many of our community
members.

Isolation measures, while necessary for public health, were experienced as a form of
confinement by many Autistic people and families. The restriction on movement, visiting
loved ones in community-based supports and remaining within a certain radius of one’s
home, added to the uncertainty and negative experience of the Autistic community. This
was particularly felt by Autistic people who lived on their own or were living in supported
living environments or children who had particular routines. Parents noted that the
closure of residential services had an incredibly negative experience on their mental
health and their child’s. The prolonged absence of social interaction and peer support
led to widespread distress, sadness, and a sense of loss. For some, the lack of tailored
mental health supports made the isolation burdensome. Families reported a
deterioration in the mental health of both Autistic people and families. This, coupled with
the lack of available supports to Autistic people made this experience that more
unbearable. The failure to provide these key services adversely impacted our community.

In a commissioned survey taken at the time of the pandemic by AsIAm, many individuals and
families noted a negative experience on their mental health.

The below insights give some insights to these experiences at this time:
– 70% of family members reported the COVID-19 crisis as being very hard to
manage;
– 72% of autistic people do not have an alternative support person or organisation
if their key support person became sick or unavailable during this time;
– 74% of families do not have access to support;
– 78% of family members did not think their autistic family member would cope
with the requirement to self-isolate;
– 55% of autistic people described coping with social distancing restrictions as
hard or very hard;
– 67% of autistic people were finding it hard to cope with the uncertainty of what
was happening.

Communication and Public Understanding
As we reflect on the period 2020-2022 a number of key learnings are required. One key
learning is how key and essential communication was delivered to the disabled
community, taking into consideration peoples communication differences. Throughout
the pandemic, many community members experienced uncertainty and anxiety due to
the inaccessibility of some of the communication that was coming from some state
agencies. Clear, accessible communication was often lacking. Families and individuals
struggled to interpret complex and rapidly changing guidance with daily announcements
creating a sense of fear within our community. Official messaging did not adequately
consider the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, nor did it
provide Autism-friendly formats to this information. Often the breaking down of
information was left to advocacy organisations. This lack of accessible communication
unnecessarily created worry for our community members at this time. Moreover, the
absence of public education campaigns addressing disability-specific issues—such as
sensory differences posed by masks—contributed to stigma and misunderstanding by
the public toward Autistic people and families. A more inclusive communication strategy
would have reduced fear and panic, while promoting compassion and social solidarity
across the different groups.

The AsIAm Team
Covid-19 presented many obstacles and challenges for organisations such as AsIAm.
Many of our services became operational online, our fundraising streams were radically
reduced, but demand for our service increased. Like many organisations we had to adapt
our services. We had to develop new ways of reaching our community in ensuring the
Autistic community were supported and guided throughout this period. These included
the following:

– A series of support webinars covering issues such as self-regulation, managing
sensory processing at home and emotional regulation;
– Developed a bank of resources to help autistic people when it came to
maintaining structure, dealing with the unknown and understanding the crisis as
it develops;
– A dedicated staff member was assigned to deal with queries from the community
arising from COVID-19;
– Providing ongoing support in issuing Autism ID Cards to community members who
found this card useful, especially when the 2km and 5km measures were
introduced.
– Liaised with the HSE and An Garda Síochána on the impact of social distancing
restrictions and the broader COVID-19 crisis on the autism community and
advocating for autism-specific supports where appropriate
– Worked with business partners to meet the needs of autistic people in accessing
essential services at supermarkets;
– We offered several online supports which focused on “dealing with change”,
“creating social stories around self-isolation, testing and new government
measurements”.

Our community support team provided ongoing direct support to community members
through the many queries that were fielded to our service at this time. Many of these calls
fielded by our community support team focused on the following:

-Difficulty interpreting rules around covid tests
– Does a fully vaccinated child who is non-symp-tomatic have to remain home from
special school
– Disrupted routines when having too self-isolate
– Difficulty getting accommodations for a child in a vaccination centre
– Looking for information on the lifting of restrictions in day services
– Sensory issues with nasal tests
– Difficulty accessing covid boosters, due to HSE communication
– Looking for social stories around the vaccine
– How to get vaccine for someone who won’t leave the house
– Clarification on whether Autistic people were classed as “vulnerable” under the
HSE guidelines for accessing vaccines
– Accessing exemptions when required to wear masks whilst out in public
– Concerns around data protection with the enforcement of vaccine mandates

Learning from Positive Experiences
Despite the challenges, certain aspects of the Covid-19 response provided unexpected
benefits for some Autistic people. Smaller groups in day services, quieter transport
arrangements, and increased opportunities for one-to-one support created calmer
environments in which individuals could thrive. These outcomes suggest that service
design should incorporate greater flexibility and choice, ensuring that supports are
responsive to diverse sensory and social needs.

Rather than returning to a “one-size-fits-all” model post-pandemic, Ireland should seek
to embed these lessons into long-term policy of support. Doing so would not only make
services more resilient in future crises but also enhance the everyday inclusion of Autistic
people, and the rights enshrined under the United Nations Convention of Person with
Disabilities is upheld.

Policy Recommendations
Future emergency planning must be guided by the principles of equality, accessibility,
and participation. Specifically:
– Education and access to disability services must be deemed “essential” and
prioritised in any future national emergency
– Emergency measures should include contingency plans to maintain essential
services for Autistic people, including education, respite, and therapies.
– A national framework of respite and family supports should be established to
prevent carer burnout during crises.
– Public health communication must be accessible, Autism-friendly, and widely
disseminated in plain language formats.
– Public awareness campaigns should promote understanding of Autism-specific
differences to reduce stigma and discrimination.
– Positive lessons from the pandemic—such as smaller service groups and quieter
transport—should be integrated into long-term service design.
– Cross-departmental coordination must be strengthened to ensure that health,
education, and social protection responses are consistent and inclusive.
– Increased financial supports for those in receipt of Disability Allowance, Domiciliary
Care Allowance and Carers Allowance due to the additional pressures that present during a
time of crisis.
– Better public understanding on the wearing of masks and the issue this might
present for those with sensory differences or intellectual disability.

Conclusion
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the extent to which Autistic people, and their families
were overlooked in crisis planning. The removal of essential supports, the lack of
accessible communication, and the absence of tailored mental health provision all
contributed to a decline in Autistic people and family’s mental health. These experiences
must inform a more inclusive approach to public health policy, grounded in Ireland’s
commitments under the UNCRPD.

By embedding accessibility, flexibility, and support into future emergency responses,
Ireland can ensure that Autistic people and families are better supported in ensuring their
needs are met during a time of crisis. Autistic people and the wider disabled community
cannot be considered an afterthought in future emergency responses. We must learn
from the areas we got wrong and build on the areas we got right.