COMMENT | Effect of MCO on persons with autism

COMMENT | Malaysia has been through a Movement Control Order (MCO) and a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) and while I write this, a second CMCO. Most of us can immediately distinguish between the two orders. For those who have autism or other disabilities, both those orders mean exactly the same thing. Isolation. Deprivation. Confusion.

Persons with autism already face any number of challenges everyday. However, over the years, they were able to learn and develop their coping mechanisms. And then arrived, ever so abruptly, Covid-19.

For persons with autism, daily routine is essential. They rely on a heavily scheduled and routine lifestyle as it adds a semblance of certainty which keeps them going. Transition is very challenging for persons with autism. Social interaction is just as important.

There is a misunderstanding that persons with autism prefer to remain in isolation. That is untrue. Research has shown that persons with autism feel the effects of being socially isolated and lonely, all of which can have a monumental impact on their mental health.

Thus, their emotional wellbeing must also be well-managed. Persons with autism can also be emotional resonators (they adopt the mood of those around them), so it is important that their environment is free, as far as possible, of anguish, anger, and aggravation.

So how did the quick transition into a pandemic alter the lives of all persons with autism...