COVID-19 Disability Resources

As we all do our best to protect the health and well-being of our families, friends, and ourselves in this unsettling time, we want to ensure that information about COVID-19 is fully accessible to everyone in the community. Below, please find links to information in Plain Language, Spanish, and ASL.

We are also sharing links regarding disability specific issues and COVID-19.

People with disabilities not only face greater risks of mortality and morbidity due to COVID-19, but also risk greater violations of civil rights and civil liberties. We will continue to add information to this page as this pandemic unfolds.

General Information

• English Plain Language Guide About COVID-19 Information By and For People with Disabilities – Green Mountain Self Advocates
• Spanish Plain Language Guide About COVID-19 Information By and For People with Disabilities – Green Mountain Self Advocates

Deaf Community

• ASL Series on COVID-19 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Deaf in Scrubs
• Health Signs Center
• Assorted Resources for the Deaf Community – National Association for the Deaf (NAD)
• ASL Hotline on COVID-19 – Communication Service Center for the Deaf, Inc.
  Available M-F from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST either by visiting CSD.org and clicking “ASL Now” or calling 833-682-7630 on videophone.
• Free VRI at COVID-19 Test Sites – Linguabee

Disability Specific Issues

• What do Older Adults and People with Disabilities Need to Know? – Administration for Community Living
• Social Security & Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – Social Security Administration (SSA)
• Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the ADA – Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Assorted Resources – Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)

• Free Assistive Technology during COVID-19: JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion – Freedom Scientific

• COVID-19 Communication Rights Toolkit for Speech-Related Communication Disabilities – CommunicationFIRST

• BULLETIN: Civil Rights, HIPAA, and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) – US Department for Human and Health Services (HHS)

Education

• Q&A on Providing Services to Children with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Outbreak – US Department of Education
• Supplemental Fact Sheet: Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Preschool, Elementary and Secondary Schools While Serving Children with Disabilities – US Department of Education
• FAQs on FERPA and COVID-19 – US Department of Education
• Webinar on Online Education and Website Accessibility – US Department of Education
• A Parent’s Guide to Virtual Learning: 4 Actions to Improve Your Child’s Experience With Online Learning – National Center for Learning Disabilities

On SSI/SSDI? Here is information about how to get your Economic Impact Payment (“Stimulus Check”)

• Coronavirus Stimulus Payments – Recovery Rebates Fact Sheet – The Arc
• These payments do not count as income for SSI purposes, and do not count toward the SSI resource limit for 12 months from the date of receipt.
• If you receive SSI, SSDI, retirement, or survivors benefits and are eligible for the economic impact payment, you should receive the payment automatically without completing any forms. However, if you receive one of these benefits and you did not file a tax return for 2018 or 2019 and you have qualifying children under age 17, you may fill out the IRS’s “non-filers” form. Filling out the form may allow the Treasury Department to send the $500 dependent child payment with your $1200 economic impact payment. If the form is not completed timely, dependent child payments may be received later.
• Visit the IRS’s website for the most up-to-date information on Economic Impact Payments.