Children with special educational needs need extra care amid COVID-19 lockdown

Shalini Mishra is feeling quite stressed these days. She has absolutely no idea how to manage the tantrums of her 16-year-old son, a cerebral palsy patient. "My son cannot do anything on his own. In between all the household chores and office work, I don’t know how to help him. In school, he always had a teacher or an attendant to look after him," she laments.

Mishra is not alone. As per rough estimates, one in eight children between the ages two and nine may have at least one neuro-development disorder. And with the continuing lockdown and special needs schools shut, parents of these special educational needs (SEN) children are at sea – they are suddenly left to look after their child 24/7.

"At school, my daughter gets ‘adult help’ in every class, plus speech therapy and other treatment. With her school closed, all that is gone. She can’t write a paragraph without having a meltdown," shares Reeta Gupta, about her 11-year-old SEN child.

"My 12-year-old son is autistic and hyperactive, and such kids are most difficult to handle, especially during this time when his routine is disturbed," says Suvidha Ohri, adding that the first week was the most difficult when her son kept crying through the day.

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"The school is important for such kids as they not only learn but also get therapy sessions. Plus, there is a dedicated person working with each child," she says, adding that while the school began giving online support through a range of activities to keep these kids occupied "the thing is, you cannot leave a special child alone". She now involves her son in household chores like shelling peas and more.

Agrees Dr Shanu Srivastava, Senior Psychologist, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Vasant Kunj. "Now that both the parents are home, one must be with the child always. If parents try to understand the child and work accordingly, the child will not feel troubled. Special schools are not for life. Once the child’s learning is complete, they have to be withdrawn from the school. If they don’t understand their child’s needs then, it will be a big problem," says Dr Srivastava, who also runs NGO Support Foundation for underprivileged special children.

"I won’t say all, but many parents are plain selfish. They don’t want to do anything for their child and feel their responsibility is over after admitting the child to a special school," says N Sujatha, who runs Shankara Special School in Noida.

It’s here that the organisation Mom’s Belief stepped in to offer online therapy to the parents of SEN kids. Their highly customised support therapy takes the child’s needs into consideration and engages parents in the decision-making process.

"We have witnessed a three-fold increase in new registrations in our child development – special needs division post-lockdown. And we are happy that the Comprehensive Online Home Programme maintains continuity in children’s lives during this upheaval," says Nitin Bindlish, Founder and CEO, Mom’s Belief.

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POINTER FOR PARENTS

• Do the activities shared by the school with your child. This will increase patience levels.

• Make the child listen to music and dance with him/ her. Both music and dance therapy reduces hyperactivity.

• Do deep breathing and simple yoga exercises with the child. This will cool him/ her down.

• Play with wet mitti (mud). Autistic and hyperactive kids draw satisfaction with this activity.

• Give your kid ample appreciation and love.