Qualitative photovoice study reveals heightened anxiety and disrupted routines in children with intellectual disabilities, indicating lasting psychological impacts from pandemic restrictions.
BACKGROUND: To date, little research has explored children with intellectual disabilities' own experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. The current study used photovoice to explore the impact of Covid-19 on children with intellectual disabilities. METHOD: Sessions were carried out with (n = 13) children aged 8-16 years across five sessions with five small groups (either face-to-face or video calls) between November 2021-March 2022. RESULTS: Three main themes (1) "Nobody likes the lockdown"; (2) "You don't want the Covid [to] get you"; (3) Everything is Different Now were connected to an overarching theme of (Im)Permanence. CONCLUSIONS: Children with intellectual disabilities were anxious during the Covid-19 pandemic and employed numerous coping strategies (such as distracting themselves with sensory-based activities). Despite looking forward to seeing family/friends, children reported worries and hesitancy about returning to 'normal', indicating potential lasting effects of the lockdown.
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Mair et al. (2026) studied this question.
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