‘We became their beginning, their middle and their end’

Background

Communicating with people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities is essential for person-centred, rights-based support. Despite a proliferation of research around COVID-19, there is a dearth of evidence exploring its impact on communication with people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities. This study aimed to explore disability support staff experiences of communicating with people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken. A purposive sample of six disability support staff who supported people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities through the pandemic in four Irish residential services participated in online, semistructured interviews. Data were analysed thematically.

Findings

Six themes were generated including unwavering commitment; running on empty; being a safe haven; empathic understanding; heightened sensitivity and new insights. Participants discussed the impact of COVID-19 on communicating with people they support, the contextual challenges, how these were managed/overcome and new learning that emerged. Although communication challenges did present because of COVID-19 restrictions, communication remained a priority.

Conclusions

Despite the challenges experienced by disability support workers, their unwavering commitment to ensuring the well-being of people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities was identified. This was a small-scale qualitative study but highlights areas warranting further research and makes recommendations for practice and service planning.