Abstract
This chapter explores resilience in an era of COVID-19 as it relates to social workers’ role in supporting mental health among autistic people during and after this pandemic. Ableism is identified as a key theme that impacts resilience. The author suggests that shared experiences of loss associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may foster greater empathy and awareness for social workers in working with this group of people. Recommendations for identity-affirming interventions that address this sense of loss and foster resilient coping are also discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
In this chapter, I am using identity-first language to describe autistic people. This choice in language is based on the recommendation of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (n.d.). I want to acknowledge that this may not represent the choice that every autistic person or person with autism spectrum disorder may be most comfortable with in describing their identity.
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Fuld, S. (2021). Autism in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflecting on Loss and Resilience. In: Tosone, C. (eds) Shared Trauma, Shared Resilience During a Pandemic. Essential Clinical Social Work Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61442-3_17
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