Are dealing with the life during lockdown
work at home, if they haven’t been furloughed, it’s changed so much,” she said.
“Before if a disabled person went for a job, they would be expected to work in the office or workplace, not from home, which can be difficult. I think this has proved people can adapt to work at home.”
Kevin Chunisingh, 44 lives in Burry Port, near Llanelli, with his wife, Becky.
In September 2009, he had a kitesurfing accident, in which he fractured his neck and was paralysed from the chest down.
Now a full-time wheelchair user, Kevin said lockdown means he is unable to do some things he enjoys, but his positive attitude is getting him through.
“One of my coping mechanisms for being disabled is spending a lot of time outdoors, visiting places like Pembrokeshire, Dorset and Cornwall, so not being able to do that has been hard,” he said. “But luckily, with the good weather I have been spending more time in my garden. I’ve been able to appreciate my own space more and feel that I am very lucky to have the space to do that.
“I do get restless, but I think to myself that these restrictions aren’t permanent and I will be able to visit them again.”
He added: “I’m lucky because I have Becky. She takes great care of me and does the shopping so I don’t have to worry about that.
“It would be so much harder didn’t have the help.”
Though he is finding aspects of the lockdown tough, Kevin believed it can also be an opportunity for people to appreciate their loved ones, also what they have.
“There are a lot of people getting frustrated by the lockdown, but for many people in a similar situation to me, we are in a permanent lockdown.
“I know someone in a similar situation who has been in bed for about a year and a half.
“After my accident I spent a total of if I 15 months in hospital.
“Lockdown can be an opportunity for people to slow down, spend time with family if they live with them, to appreciate what they have in their own space and going out for walks.
“We can focus on what we have and what we can do.”
Some years after his accident, Kevin picked up a new and unlikely hobby: painting.
He found a way of securing a paintbrush to his hand using his feeding strap, which assisted him to paint.
Since lockdown, he has been trying new types of art, which he said makes him feel happy because he is achieving something.
“The type of painting I usually do takes a lot of effort and I have injured my shoulder, so I’m doing less of that at the moment. But what I am trying new styles like drawing and illustration. I did a sketch of an eye which came out really well.
“I usually avoid sketching because I don’t have much control over my hands. I’m taking it as an opportunity to pick up new skills and apply them to my painting when I start back again.
“Also when you are learning new skills and you become totally immersed in what you are doing your mind does not wander – it is mindfulness, essentially.”
Hayley Morgan is 33 and lives in Port Talbot with her husband, Richard, 39, and their two children: George, six and Henry, three.
Hayley was diagnosed with autism at the age of 30 and is a full-time carer to her husband, who also has autism.
She has also recently finished an MSc in autism and related conditions.
She said the lockdown is challenging for a lot of family carers at this time, but that it’s important to remember some carers are disabled themselves.
“What’s really getting me through this is taking a day to day approach. I can’t control when we can go to Costa or when the schools are open, but I can control the day to day. For example, routine is really important for autistic people so we’ve adapted to a new routine,” she said.
“Before the lockdown started our normal routine was to drop the children off and then go to Costa for a coffee at about 12.30pm. Now, we have that coffee at the same time at home.
“Our kids do taekwondo classes through Zoom too, which helps. I’m also letting us as a family indulge in our special interests which autistic people often have.
“As a family we love birds and we watch them in the garden. It’s important for our well-being and keeps us happy through the lockdown.” Hayley said she feels relieved that her children, who have some autistic behaviours, have taken it so well.
She said: “It’s been hard explaining the news to the children at times, as autistic people don’t like ‘grey areas’ and rather things being black and white.
“However, my six-year-old has been very level-headed.
“On the days where I feel like I’m not coping, he really helps. If the children weren’t coping so well it would be a lot harder.”
She said having autism has meant some aspects of knockdown have been particularly challenging, explaining: “I take rules very literally. I was told in my driving lessons always to indicate on a roundabout and I always do. I think it makes me a good driver, but in lockdown, when I see people flouting the rules it gets me really angry.
“I think ‘if I have to do this, why aren’t you?,’”
Hayley has hyper-mobile joints, a condition often related to autism. She said it causes her pain, but is improved by exercise.
Since she can’t go to the gym because of lockdown, she said she has noticed the pain getting worse.
She said: “Not being able to do physical exercise as much is a struggle. I lost 7st to help with my joints, as I was told I could end up in a wheelchair if it gets worse. Exercise helps with the pain and to build strength and since lockdown I’ve been experiencing more pain.
“However, I am lucky enough to live near Aberavon Beach, so I go there for a walk every day at 4pm – that also helps with my mental health.”
Hayley said another hobby which really helps her is her blog, where she writes about autism awareness based around parenting and motherhood.