Living With Autism in the Pandemic Era – How the Health Crisis Affected the Disability Welfare Policy in the Region of Lesser Poland

Abstract

Our chapter focuses on the situation of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We present the results of a qualitative study aimed at outlining the state of policies dedicated to individuals with ASD prior to and during the global health crisis. We conducted desk research based on documents published by third sector organisations dedicated to individuals with ASD and categorised in our study as epistemic communities. Next, we carried out interviews with parents and professionals on the social practices of supporting children and adolescents with ASD during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region of Lesser Poland [PL: Małopolska]. The discourse of NGOs enabled us to identify the greatest challenges of individuals with ASD and their families and solutions introduced prior to and during the pandemic. Based on the accounts of parents and professionals, we found that as many as every single person with ASD struggled with the epidemic in an individual manner, ceasing pre-pandemic habits, adapting to the new school context, and missing contacts with peers were the major difficulties.

Citation

Prokop-Dorner, A., Ożegalska-Łukasik, N. and Świątkiewicz-Mośny, M. (2023), "Living With Autism in the Pandemic Era – How the Health Crisis Affected the Disability Welfare Policy in the Region of Lesser Poland", Genova, A., Scavarda, A. and Świątkiewicz-Mośny, M. (Ed.) Disability Welfare Policy in Europe, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 119-139. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-819-020231008