How People with Intellectual Disabilities are Experiencing the Pandemic
As the Coronavirus pandemic spreads, people with disabilities in the United States face daily struggles to cope with adjusting to a new lifestyle. The effects of the virus are drastic, and can even be catastrophic.
While the virus may not necessarily be deadly to all people with disabilities, it has initiated new problems. Even so, the spread of the virus is still deadly to a large portion of the disabled community. According to the CDC, Coronavirus may be more deadly to the disabled if they have underlying medical conditions.
Access to Employment
If the job opportunities weren’t already low enough, there are many people who depend on their income for not only basic needs, but also crucial medical supplies. Businesses and companies are making an effort to move to remote employment, but this is not always inclusive to those with disabilities.
Many disabled people depend on a daily routine, and in the midst of a crisis, it can be more difficult for them to adjust to remote employment. If remote employment is unavailable, many are wondering how they will buy basic needs and medications.
Access to Necessities
Sometimes it is already a struggle to find transportation to the grocery store or to the pharmacy. Many busses have discontinued their services temporarily, and social distancing has made it harder to depend on friends and family for care.
Refills on medication and other essentials such as food, toilet paper, and soap may not be accessible to those who are in the most need. These are struggles that are already present without the existence of a pandemic.
Access To Healthcare
Many people with disabilities depend on doctor’s appointments and therapy to keep themselves healthy, and not all doctors are providing online services. Even so, these services are not always helpful to individuals who are blind or deaf. People with disabilities might also have trouble finding transportation to a testing center if they fear that they have caught the virus.
Social distancing may not be a choice that is available to a person with a disability if they rely on a caretaker or nurse to help them with day-to-day activities. Friends and family may not be equipped to meet their needs. Cognitive disabilities may also prevent certain people to comprehend and carry out preventive measures like distancing and disinfecting. Others with difficulty communicating may not be able to tell others that they have symptoms or reason to believe they have caught the virus.
How DCI Can Help
Direct Care Innovations has created a unique software management platform for caregiving organizations. Provider agencies can depend on our software to ease the burden of communication/messaging, scheduling, payroll, billing, authorization, and electronic visit verification. Electronic monitoring is a hands-off method that will allocate more resources to giving direct care. The usage of technology is also adaptable to remote work. Those interested in a sales demo can contact us at (480) 295-3307!