COVID‐19 as a disruptor of school norms for young people with learning disabilities

What is it about?

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to live at a social distance from other people. This has changed the way people live and are included socially. This paper focuses on the unexpected ways schools have altered and deepened social inclusion for children with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed six people: two people who work for a Local Authority, one Headteacher of a special school, one Special Educational Needs and Disability Consultant, one young person with a learning disability and her mother. The findings and conclusions show the “new normal” caused by COVID-19 can help to deepen social inclusion for children with learning disabilities. For example, it can help children communicate in alternative ways with their teachers and friends. It can help families to understand more about their son/daughter's educational abilities; this means they can advocate better for them. It can help professionals to meet the needs of children with learning disabilities more quickly. We do not enjoy living at a social distance from everyone else, but we do want to make sure that lessons can be learnt from this moment in time.

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Why is it important?

COVID-19 has created the conditions for a “new normal” which have given children with learning disabilities different opportunities for social inclusion, whether that be through increased power/agency for them and their families and/or new modes of connectedness leading to enhanced relationships. It is possible to learn lessons from this.