COVID-19 Resources for Adults on the Spectrum

• How to apply for EI and COVID-19 emergency benefits (CBC News)
• Manage Anxiety & Stress from the CDC
• Visual Recipes for individuals with autism (Able2Learn)
• Taking care of your mental health in times of crisis
• Self-Advocate blogs: Quarantine And Chill: 10 Fun Activities When You Are Asked To Stay At Home
• Social Distancing, Obsessing, Autism And The Coronavirus
• When the World Changes…
• THOUGHTS ON THE CORONAVIRUS / COVID19 AND THE AUTISTIC COMMUNITY
• Apple highlights apps to help families manage autism amid the coronavirus
• COVID-19 Navigation Guide from CASDA
• Online tool kit ED.UNC.EDU
• COVID-19 Preparedness and Resources by Autism Society
• Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses
• Other Covid 19 Information and Resources
• 5 tips for parents with children on the autism spectrum during COVID-19 pandemic
• We are Heroes: A Plain Language Guide about Covid-19 This guide is about Covid-19 and some of the changes to our lives in Ontario. The version with pictures is at the “Full Guide” link, above. This guide was created by autistic people, in Toronto.
• Autism and Covid19 Healthcare Information Advice and resources for autistic people during the pandemic written by adult autistic and medical communities.
• COVID-19 Navigation Guide from CASDA CASDA knows these are challenging times for our community. We are looking to curate and push out mental health resources (dealing with isolation, stress, anxiety) and ideas and activities that members have created/found helpful.
• Autism, Anxiety and COVID-19 COVID-19 has profoundly heightened anxiety in the autism community internationally. Our families and organizations are struggling to provide a stable environment for children, youth and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Able adults with ASD are also feeling the strain. To mark World Autism Day with a practical initiative, ACT has invited three respected mental health clinicians, who have presented for ACT on autism and mental health, to answer questions on ‘Anxiety and COVID-19’. Wherever you live in the world, in British Columbia, across Canada, or further afield, you are welcome to submit your questions. We will choose the most representative for our panelists to tackle.
• How to apply for COVID-19 emergency benefits The Emergency Care Benefit provides up to $900 every two weeks for up to 15 weeks, to those affected by COVID-19. It’s intended for those who don’t qualify for EI, can’t go to work and don’t have paid sick leave. Workers — including the self-employed — who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 can apply, as can those staying home to take care of a family member with COVID-19 who doesn’t qualify. Parents staying home to care for children because of school closures are also covered, and can apply whether or not they qualify for EI. Both benefit plans will be available to apply for in April, through the CRA website, and a toll-free number that has not yet been shared.
• How to apply for EI Emergency benefits to be made available in April for those who don’t qualify for EI. Whether you qualify for EI will still depend on your specific situation.  To receive regular EI, you must have lost your job through no fault of your own, including lay-offs. EI sickness benefits include being unable to work because of illness or quarantine. Under Wednesday’s changes, the one-week waiting period for sickness benefits will be removed for those who have been told to self-isolate or quarantine, meaning applicants can be paid for the first week of their claim. If approved, the maximum amount paid out for EI is $573 a week. To apply for EI benefits, you can visit the website. Afterwards, you can apply to have the one-week waiting period waived by calling the government’s toll-free number at 1-833-381-2725, or teletypewriter at 1-800-529-3742.
• How to cope with disrupted personal routines during COVID-19 There are heightened emotions all around and for many autistic adults, there are added disruptions to daily living. From appointments being cancelled, to work being closed, to classes being moved online, there are many different factors that could push a person into a crisis mode. Below are some tips you can use to feel more confident with adapting to a new normal.
• Working from home: Developing a new routine Employees are working from home as a means of social distancing—a key step in managing the outbreak of COVID-19. For employees on the autism spectrum, this change in routine can be especially challenging. Here are some steps you can take to make your new work routine work for you.
• How To Talk About COVID-19 With People Who Have Autism If you care for someone with a developmental disability that affects their communication skills – something like autism – how do you talk to them about the coronavirus pandemic? NPR’s Ashley Westerman had been asking herself that question, so she called someone very close to her.
• Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses
• Molehill Mountain App (Autistica) Molehill Mountain is an app to help autistic people understand and self-manage anxiety. You can use Molehill Mountain to explore the causes and symptoms of anxiety. The app was designed and tested with adults.
  • track your worries and the situations that trigger anxiety
  • get evidence-based daily tips to understand more about anxiety
  • feel more confident to self-manage  anxiety
• Spectrum Productions Community Challenge We wanted to extend our reach to potential filmmakers out there that don’t have access to our programming and studio. So every 2 weeks we will issue a fun and easy challenge that you can do from home. All you need is a way to film yourself and record audio, this can be a smart phone camera or something higher quality if you do have access to it. The important thing to remember is, this is about having fun and exploring the creative ways we can work with the tools that most of us have. Excited? Let’s Gooooooo! Join the Spectrum’s Community Challenge Group on Facebook HERE
• Online Covid-19 Resources from Autistics United Canada
• Online courses, software, academic journals, and apps that you can access for free during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada from Dealhack
• My COVID Disability Q (Kids Brain Health Network) CanChild, the Kids Brain Health Network, and the CHILD-BRIGHT Network are happy to announce the launch of My COVID Disability Q., a new Twitter Q&A hub for Canadian children and youth with disabilities as well as family members speaking on their behalf. Using My COVID Disability Q., youth and their family members are invited to ask questions relating to disabilities and the ongoing COVID-19 situation and get credible answers from some of Canada’s leading disability experts working in a wide range of fields including health, research, science, policy, leisure, and wellbeing.
• Peer 2 Peer Groups (Communitech) “Communitech’s Peer2Peer groups help professionals in the Waterloo Region tech industry share challenges and lessons-learned in a friendly, informal environment. Peer2Peer groups provide an opportunity for individuals in similar roles or functions to exchange advice and best-practices information. Session formats include guest speakers, roundtables and workshops. “
• Making Mask-Wearing Easier for Autistic Adults and Those with Sensory Needs (Autism Speaks) Clinical psychologist Dr. Rebecca Shaffer of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital reviews some easy steps to practice mask-wearing at home for autistic people so that you can be successful wearing masks as communities re-open.