The Special Need To Return To School

The safest way to avoid Covid-19 is to stay completely isolated from every other human being and never leave home. That’s what would logically be best for us around our home considering the fact that one of us has been admitted multiple times for respiratory illnesses in the past.

Not to point fingers, but it was this kid.

Since March of 2020, we haven’t been completely isolated from other people, but there has been a lot of separation. We didn’t have any therapists coming by to the house for a few months and school was moved to online learning. As far as dealing with a virtual classroom, we did just about as well as can be done with it. But getting to that point of doing the best that can possibly be done with remote special education took a lot of materials that were not provided and a lot of technology that many students may not have had at home.

For example, we were given programmable speech buttons and have switch-adapted toys. Are all of my son’s schoolmates able to get these? In theory, yes, but that doesn’t mean they all did right at the moment they needed them. And what about communication flashcards? And felt boards, pom-poms, construction paper, therapy devices, or even a decent supportive chair to learn in? I can’t say that everyone had that on day one because we didn’t. We had to make felt boards and we had to buy a laminator. We had private therapists coming in masks and face shields. We got our son measured for a new wheelchair just before the facility stopped taking all in-person outpatient appointments. After a lot of effort and some money, we made things work. But not everyone is so flexible. And even after all that, it still wasn’t really enough. So after months and months of getting by, when the choice to go back to in-person learning came up, we decided to take it.

Back to school. All his classroom teachers are waiting in the background.

Still, our son’s return to school had a few extra measures that too many special schools go without. First of all, our son has his own nurses that are part of his care separately from school, so his adjustment from home to full-day school goes a little smoother. Secondly, Rowan’s school is dedicated to students with special needs, so the total number of students that go to his public school is fewer than a typical public school. Third, we chose to drive our son directly to school and back without using the bus, and this is a rare option for most because we just happen to live within easy driving distance. And finally, of the students who go there, only a couple dozen families elected to send their children for in-person learning. This mostly-open environment was the tipping point for us choosing to go back to the building.

Special equipment and expert teachers don’t translate well virtually.

Unfortunately, these advantages aren’t enjoyed by all families with children who need special education. Not even the biggest reason our son is able to go back to school–stable health. We have been lucky this year that my son’s illnesses have been mild and controlled. But as we know from our own experience, a lot of kids are at risk even with typical illnesses and have a hard time visiting the school as it is, much less when Covid is involved and caretakers at home are older.

Our decision to go back to school wasn’t political or philosophical. It was just a gut check of the risks and benefits and the feeling that it was worth it.

So…what’s my point?

My point is that for us to confidently send our son back to school (confident in that we think we have at least a 51% chance that everything will work out all right), we had to be able to send our son to school with a private nurse, only around 15% of the student body returning, we are driving him to school ourselves, and his health has remained stable. Not to mention all the precautions going on around the school itself. These conditions are not normal conveniences, so we are very lucky. But these conditions are not changing fast enough for most people. These conditions are still going to exist in the fall at the start of the next school year. Not every family will be vaccinated. As of now, children aren’t even approved to be vaccinated at all. So beyond the political questions of sending children to school, we are still going to have to deal with the reality that it will not be reasonably safe for a lot of kids for a long time to come.

I hope that we can grow our resources for special education families learning from home. I hope we can get the technology and gear and supplies to all the kids who need them instead of just sending them to the local craft store and wishing them luck. And I hope that the planning begins now. Because these needs aren’t going anywhere and they are easy to see coming.