The Lockdown procedures put in place by the Government in order to contain the COVID-19 Pandemic put enormous strain on all caretakers and parents, but particularly those who have responsibilities for young people with SEN and Autism. Last April law firm Bindmans LLP even sought to take legal action against the Government for limiting the ability for caretakers to provide their wards with the exercise and activity required to manage their conditions.
Posters on Mumsnet, perhaps the most (in)famous parenting forum in the UK, related these experiences first-hand throughout the UK’s lockdowns, and looking back on them provides a barefaced insight into this period and the tribulations experienced by many.
- User NotEver0 related how she found herself having suicidal thoughts regarding herself and her severely disabled son when his college closed during the pandemic. The stress of having to look after a young person requiring “24 hour supervision and self-care assistance with everything” left her sleeping most of the day when he eventually did return to college. She emphasised how sorely her son required routine, something that the pandemic had made extremely difficult.
- A different, but no less unpleasant account was offered by SENandSENsibility, who told the forum for herself and her partner the stress of having to look after their young son with SEN while balancing an unequal workload had led to enormous rows and tensions. She was left unsure of how best to address the resentment that had built, and was at a loss as to seek outside help that could provide for his extensive needs.
- Newyeary bemoaned how her 10 year old son on the Autistic Spectrum had already had his mental health noticeably decline with the intermittent schooling that he had been receiving, a state of affairs that had reached a new low as the schools lessons were due to be moved permanently online, owing to a lack of staff. The young man was an only child, with no friends outside of the classroom.
An Eye Through The Door 