When COVID-19 interrupted the work of The Arc San Francisco, a nonprofit serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, its staff quickly had to find ways to make sure members were not completely isolated from the outside world.
Alex Williams, an associate director of lifelong learning at The Arc SF, said staffers put their “heads together to create something bigger for our clients to access.”
Worried not only about their clients’ loneliness, they also were concerned that some people could experience atrophy if they did not get physical movement while confined at home.
They created an online Hub with resources. By June 2020, The Arc SF was offering regular Zoom classes, which continue today, as the organization celebrates Disability Pride Month in July. (The observance marks the anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990.)
“Isolation is a huge risk for our population. It has a serious detriment on not only their mental health but physical health as well,” Williams said, noting that the issue predated the pandemic.
Among conversations about the prevalent youth mental health crisis, isolation experienced by young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is often left out. A 2021 study published in the Disability Health Journal found that disabled people experience loneliness and social isolation at higher rates than non-disabled people. And adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are five times more likely to report mental distress.
Lack of accessible activities is one reason for the distress.
At the onset of the pandemic, Williams was surprised about interest in The Arc SF’s Hub from non-members. The site had around 1,000 unique monthly visitors in spring 2020, with users from as far as Ireland saying they were pleased with the information they found on the site.
“I’m not really sure how the word got out, but it was really cool to have people from all over accessing [it],” Williams said.
Even though The Arc SF has returned to in-person programming, online Zoom classes remain. About 180 regular participants take anywhere between one class a week to four classes a day. “A lot of our participants have directly advocated for us to keep hybrid classes,” Williams said.
Having fun and learning
The Arc SF is a local chapter of The Arc, a national organization.
To participate in Arc SF activities, members, or “self-advocates,” must register and make a donation. Class offerings range from American Sign Language to nutrition to karaoke to self-advocacy.
Eyan Gilder, a 25-year-old East Bay resident who lives with cerebral palsy, is relieved that Arc SF classes are online because commuting to San Francisco is a challenge.
“I definitely feel as if they are a second family,” Gilder said. “I’m glad to have that in my circle.”
Gilder, who wants to be a guidance counselor, is studying sociology at Chabot College in Hayward and works for a nonprofit in Berkeley. He participates in about two Arc SF classes a week. His current favorite is Games Afternoon, where he can play games virtually or listen to what others are doing while completing his school assignments.
“It allows me to come and like be chill and just hang out and spend time with them,” Gilder said. “I’ll just be sitting there doing homework and just hearing [their] voices helps me be calm and collected.”
Impact of change
A 2022 study in the International Journal of Developmental Disabilities found that people with intellectual disabilities benefit emotionally from participating in leisure and community activities. But, as with people without disabilities, having fun is not a replacement for mental health support, even though it can help a person’s wellbeing.
Mayra Mendez, a Southern California psychotherapist who has worked for more than 30 years with young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has witnessed how social group interactions, including online, benefit this community.
“Involvement in groups, community activities and social engagement can support social learning, coping skills development, anger management skill building, and address emotional regulation in a collaborative manner,” Mendez said.
Transitioning into adulthood can be stressful for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Mendez said. Some may struggle with problem-solving and coping with change. For disabled people, this disruption often comes with the end of high school.
Even for people attending college, the end of legally mandated accommodations (Individualized Education Programs and 504 plans) can be a rude awakening.
Finding new ways to build a routine into their lives could potentially help some intellectually disabled young people navigate this change.
Mendez says activities that incorporate the “use of active and interactive techniques and strategies,” such as Arc SF programming, can be useful.
Staying connected
Williams hopes that The Arc SF Hub online offerings continue to help prevent adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities from withdrawing, something she’s witnessed in her work at the nonprofit over the past decade.
“Clients get disconnected from the community, [when] maybe something goes on with their health, they have an injury or something like that,” said Williams, noting that such detachment happens more often with older participants. She added, “Staying connected is essential.”
Staying connected has helped Gilder, who said, “It’s given me an opportunity to make more friends”—folks who desire community and know what it’s like to navigate the Bay Area as a disabled adult.
This article was supported by the Solutions Journalism Network’s HEAL Fellowship.
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