Skip to content
HealthMatters Program

Promoting health where we live, learn, work, and play!

  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do
    • HealthMatters™ Program
      • Virtual Coach: HealthMatters Program Application Instructions
      • Organization Portal
      • Virtual Coach: HealthMatters Program FAQs
      • HealthMatters™ Program Resources
    • National Healthy Brain Initiative for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Healthy Brain Initiative for People with IDD Strategies
      • Healthy Brain Resources for People with IDD and their Supports
    • HealthAdvocacy™ Program
    • HealthAlert: Signs & Symptoms Program
    • HealthMatters 4Kids – Today Counts Diabetes Prevention
    • HealthMessages™ Program: Peers Supporting Peers
    • OptimalRx: When Less is More
    • Partnering to Transform Health Outcomes with Persons with Intellectual IDD (PATH-PWIDD)
  • Resources
    • Publications
    • Events
    • Information and Products
  • Contact Us
  • Search

Intellectual Disability Service Providers Want to Protect Clients. The State Isn’t Telling Them How

Information and Products

Bars, restaurants, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have closed or are practicing social distancing in Arizona. But group homes and other programs have received little guidance, putting people with intellectual disabilities at risk.

John and Christi Estrada, one of many Arizona families left without COVID-19 guidance. (Courtesy of Christi Estrada)
by Amy Silverman, Arizona Daily Star,  April 2, 2020

This article was produced in partnership with the Arizona Daily Star, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.

Christi Estrada has no idea when she’ll be able to visit her son again.

John Estrada, 33, has autism. He lives in a government-funded group home in Tucson, Arizona. In mid-March, Christi received a call informing her that John’s house was quarantined because of fears of COVID-19. He was not allowed to go to a day program where he worked one-on-one with a care provider, participated in games, drew on his iPad and went hiking and bowling. Christi was barred from visiting.

“He called and wanted me to pick him up and he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand anything about the coronavirus,” she said. “It’s just a real confusing time for him, and it’s hard to talk to him on the phone because it’s hard to know what to say.”

Rob Seaver is equally frustrated — but for different reasons. His daughter, Raegan, 19, also has autism and lives in a group home in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb. But administrators there have not imposed a lockdown. Rob is terrified that Raegan is going to get sick. The home is running low on toilet paper and hand sanitizer, he said. His frantic emails to state administrators went unanswered for days.

Raegan Seaver has autism and lives in a Glendale, Arizona, group home. (Courtesy of the Seaver family)

Arizona has a national reputation as one of the best states at providing services for people with intellectual disabilities. And yet residents, families and providers said that since the COVID-19 crisis exploded, they have received almost no guidance from the state’s developmental disability agency about how to best provide services and protection to stay safe and in business.

Uncertainty over the best practices for protecting the intellectually disabled from infection has led some providers to close their programs or divert aides from providing home visits. Some parents have been left to provide 24-hour care to children with intensive health needs. People with intellectual disabilities are struggling with unfamiliar and sometimes upsetting new routines.

Continue Reading Full Article

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Post navigation

← Previous Post
Next Post →

Subscribe to HealthMatters™ News

Receive website posts by email.

Online courses

  • HealthAdvocacy

  • HealthMatters Program Instructor Online Course

Stay Connected

  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

Join our Listserv

Sign Up for HealthMatters™ Alerts

Disability and Health

People with disabilities can lead long, healthy lives. Visit CDC's website to learn more.

People with disabilities can lead long, healthy lives. Visit CDC's website to learn more.
My Tweets

HealthMatters™ is dedicated to promoting the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

© 2010-2021 HealthMatters™ Program

Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago

A Grant from Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), RC4HD066915 supported website development. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of NICHD.
Scroll to Top
%d bloggers like this: