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Amir has bundles of energy so his family and support workers at Harrow Outreach were worried what would happen when COVID-19 put the country into lockdown.

Previously Amir had been receiving up to 25 hours a week of face-to-face support, organised into structured activities so he could keep his busy mind engaged. When lockdown began, the team had to move his sessions to Zoom and were in awe of Amir – who has autism and ADHD and who coped brilliantly when his support was delivered online.

“We structured his activities in just the same way as before and he has absolutely thrived, he’s been amazing,” explains Harriet Williams, Deputy Manager of Harrow Learning Disability support. “Amir is doing crosswords and word searches, which he hadn’t done before, his writing has come on and he’s become super-organised with colour-coded folders for different topics. His energy and enthusiasm is contagious and he has also become a fan of online yoga!”

Amir’s mum had been worried about keeping her lively son occupied during the pandemic and has been surprised by how well he has adapted to digital support. She told us:

“This has been a life changing experience. With enthusiasm and dedication, Amir’s support online – which was a long shot at first – has managed to turn a negative into positive. It’s saved Amir from a lonely life, and instead, given him a full and exciting life with new ideas and a lot of amazing achievements.”