TY - JOUR
AU - Spassiani, Natasha A.
AU - Becaj, Mojca
AU - Miller, Clare
AU - Hiddleston, Andrew
AU - Hume, Aaron
AU - Tait, Stephan
PY - 2022
DA - April
TI - ‘Now that I am connected this isn't social isolation, this is engaging with people’: Staying connected during the COVID‐19 pandemic
JO - British Journal of Learning Disabilities
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12478
AB - The COVID-19 global pandemic has put adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities at greater risk of being socially excluded due to physical distancing. Technology has been looked at as a tool for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities to stay connected, however, little is known about this topic. The purpose of this study was to explore how a grassroots disability organisation used technology to help adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities feel socially connected during the pandemic.MethodsData were collected through questionnaires, attendance records, and field notes; and analysed through trend and thematic analysis.FindingsFour main themes emerged from the data: active leadership, mental wellbeing, technology/digital inclusion, and safety.ConclusionThese findings suggest that when participants overcome technological barriers they found it easy to socially connect online during lockdown.
PB - Wiley
UR - http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2866386
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER