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COVID‐19 has very publicly had profound impacts on the health system of every country in the world. Over 4.5 million people have lost their lives. School closures worldwide where up to 1.6 billion of the world's children have been out of school, are also prominent in world news. Behind these public impacts are the families. In this paper, we focus on the experiences of families with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through analysis of two data sets: the emerging research literature and contributions from our author team who have lived experience of intellectual and developmental disability in the context of COVID‐19. From these two data sets, we discern five themes of the impact of the pandemic: on health, on education, on services and supports, on families and finally on relationships beyond the family. We conclude with lessons from those living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the carers and the individuals themselves to draw implications for supporting families in the context of disability during future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous countries have recognized the need for improved surveillance data on the health of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Federal agencies need additional information about the prevalence and health of persons with IDD to guide decisions about policies and programs. Without such data, health inequities and health needs of people with IDD can go unrecognized and be ignored, and resources may be misdirected. The priority areas for needed information, however, have not been well documented. To determine priorities for health data for persons with IDD, we conducted focus groups with three types of stakeholders from around the United States: researchers/practitioners, adults with IDD, and family members. Focus group dialogue was coded for themes and compared across stakeholder categories. Themes common to all groups included valuing people with IDD and respecting their self‐determination; affirming the need for data including longitudinal data; holding a holistic view of physical, mental, social, and sexual health; and access to quality health care, medications, and assistive equipment. Each group also contributed unique ideas such as importance of trust for disclosure of private information, stereotypes and discrimination, and social influences on health. Stakeholders identified specific health conditions to monitor, including COVID‐19. Findings have implications for establishing a health surveillance data system and for practice more generally. Health needs to be considered holistically, including physical, mental, social, and sexual health. A data framework needs to extend beyond a cross‐sectional comparative framework to include longitudinal tracking and monitoring conditions unique to persons with IDD. People with IDD may not trust nor disclose sensitive information about their disability and health to support persons and surveyors, which has implications for under‐reporting of prevalence of IDD and validity of proxy‐reporting. Input from multiple stakeholders is fundamental to developing a usable and relevant data collection system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]