Parents of special needs children express concerns about the return to school

“My son is typically known as a runner, so if I let him go through the doors without somebody there to retrieve him on the other end, he could turn around and walk away,” she said.

The policy is intended to reduce the number of people coming into and out of the school and stop the spread of the virus should it reach the school.

Aside from the new pick- up and drop off policy, Hill said she has been trying to get her young son to understand social distancing but she is not sure if her young son will be able to fully understand it come the start of school.

“ He is a very lovey kid so he loves to hug his friends, and play with them and interact as closely as he can with them, and I don’t know if he will be able to understand the social distancing that needs to be respected.”She said

Local parents with special needs children are also concerned about the ability to adapt to new technology like Chromebooks, and the impact on their child’s learning.

“If the technology didn’t work with his own fingers or his own use of things, he would become very frustrated and meltdown and that type of meltdown is different than a temper tantrum. It’s just he sets up a barrier. He will not do it,” Hill said.

According to Hill, mask-use is also a point of contention with parents of special needs students, with some parents reconsidering the return back to school.

“There’s been some concern. There’s been a lot of consideration to home school their children versus putting them back into the system.” she said.

Medicine Hat Public School Division Superintendent Mark Davidson told CHAT News Today that under the province’s guidelines students with physical or mental health needs can apply for an exemption if wearing a mask is too difficult.

Parents can apply for an exemption by speaking to their child’s principal.

Overall, Davidson said the return back to school will be unique to the individual child given their circumstances.

“For students with mild-moderate learning disabilities, the service they would receive would be largely unchanged aside from the fact that we need to do the same kind of work in terms of PPE and distancing and sanitization. Our ability to modify programming, to alter programming to meet their needs is really not changed for in-school students. Now for students with significant medical needs or cognitive need, some of those challenges may be greater but it really is about the need of each individual student,” he said.

Classroom teachers combined with specialized support educators will work with the families to design the programming, and teachers will be having discussions with parents prior to the start of school.

A spokesperson for Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education was unable to provide an interview but in statement, the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education reiterates a similar sentiment:

“Our Learning Services team has been meeting with families over the summer months to develop child-specific plans leading into the new school year. Each child’s routine will be tailored to their specific needs and school procedures may be adjusted to best support each child and their family. Plans include supporting the children as they arrive at school and for the remainder of the school day as needed,” Hugh Lehr, Associate Superintendent of Learning Services said.

Parents of special needs children with questions about the return to school are encouraged to contact their child’s school principal.

by Tiffany Goodwein

Parents of special needs children express concerns about the return to school

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