Reopen schools for special needs students: Experts

The journey to school borrowing a friendrsquos water bottle or compass box and the bonding over lunch are among the countless stimuli that benefit children particularly special kids After being deprived of these for around two years experts say authorities must reopen physical classes for differently abled children who have suffered stunted developmental growth which in some cases may be irreversibleExperts say these children are showing an increase in maladaptive behaviours and regression in their functional skillsldquoDue to the pandemic schools have been closed since March 2020 and its consequences for students have been far reaching Children with disabilities CwDs are best served by inperson instructionrdquo said Archana Chandra CEO of Jai Vakeel Foundation which has been working with children and adults with intellectual developmental disability IDDHuge challengesChandra said online schooling poses huge challenges for special needs educators as these children need experiential or activitybased learning ldquoOnline school is an inadequate substitute for physical schooling Certain strategies that enable teachers to better engage with children canrsquot be used across a screen We have seen social isolation take its toll and witnessed children showing increase in maladaptive behaviours and regression in their functional skills Somatisation regression and loss of speech are just some of the consequences for CwDsrdquo Chandra statedA survey conducted by the foundation found that 29 per cent of the children regressed in some functional skilladaptive behaviour ldquoIn data that we collected across schools in Maharashtra we saw that only 26 per cent were conducting online classes The rest were being taught via phone calls WhatsApp and infrequent home visits not conducive to meeting the requirements of special needs studentsrdquo said Chandra Around 342 per cent of students showed an increase in one or more areas of maladaptive behavioursShe said the closure of the special schools has amplified the caregiving burden ldquoA severe burnout is observed as the caregivers balance between managing their childrsquos disability and domestic duties The families are also grappling with personal loss and reduced incomes The closure of schools has deprived them of the comfort of social support systemsrdquo said ChandraAnkita Rane mother of a 7yearold boy with autism said with other schools opening and life getting back to normal special schools too should open ldquoMy sonrsquos growth period has been affected with absence of physical schooling as oneonone physical interactions are not happening and all therapies are at halt My son being hyperactive wonrsquot even sit for online classesrdquo she saidSejal Murkar mother of a 13yearold boy with autism said it was difficult to provide the environment that the special school has at home ldquoPhysical schooling for specially abled children plays a key role as through play and interaction with other children they build language and communication skills My son has become hyperactive and it is difficult to make him sit for online classes His therapy sessions have also got affectedrdquo she saidlsquoKids can be trainedrsquoDr Samir Dalwai consultant developmentalbehavioural paediatrician Nanavati Max Hospital said children with special needs can be reasonably trained to adapt to following COVID protocolsldquoIn any case the special school staff is always trained on how to handle these children The staff should be sensitised towards helping children with special needs to follow COVIDappropriate behaviourrdquo he said29Percentage of students with regressed functional skill