As schools grapple with in-person versus remote learning
decisions, the parents of kids with special needs are faced with challenges on
both sides of the choice. The Tampa Bay News outlines the issues, and
Entrepreneur.com describes new tech solutions that can help with at-home
study.
Attention span issues make online learning a challenge for
some children. Others have regressed socially and academically from a spring of
pandemic isolation. But returning to school has its own challenges. Will kids
have the impulse control to wear masks and to avoid touching other children?
Students with special needs sometimes whisper in a teacher's ear if they're too
shy to speak up in class, and that option will be gone.
Therapists at school also have new limitations on their
treatment regimes. Physical and occupational therapists won't be able use the
physical manipulations that are so helpful. If your child is staying home, take
the initiative to contact therapists who have been helpful in the past and ask
if telehealth sessions are available. While they're not as efficient as
in-person therapy, they're better than no therapy at all.
Some parents, concerned about putting their kids back in
school with such limitations and risks, may prefer to keep them at home. Others
have no choice, since many schools are opening with exclusively online
learning, at least for the first month or so. Here are some of the innovative products
that can help families survive remote learning.
Benetech is a nonprofit that offers an e-book library
called Bookshare. It features over 900,000 books in audio, braille, large font and more, enabling
kids with dyslexia, blindness and cerebral palsy to read or listen on their
devices.
On Varsity Tutors, you can find an online reading group of students with dyslexia who are reading at the same level as your child, based on a
self-assessment questionnaire. Isolation is decreased when kids working together
with others having similar challenges. They have three fee-based class
series for children having language difficulties. Each is offered at different times of the day
https://www.varsitytutors.com/courses/orton-gillingham-reading-group-a-2-5/dp/dabd4a46-5ee1-473f-b1cd-063117b9e982
https://www.varsitytutors.com/courses/orton-gillingham-reading-group-b-2-5/dp/0f301e30-033a-472e-a299-0bc0a1b78a52
https://www.varsitytutors.com/courses/orton-gillingham-reading-group-c-2-5/dp/f0e522ec-2062-4613-b05e-719c0e2feed1
Goally is a wearable device that gives activity
prompts, which parents program in advance. By following the prompts, children
become less dependent on their parents to manage their schedules, giving
parents a break as well. The device gives points for completing tasks, which
accumulate and result in rewards like a trip to a fast-food restaurant or an
episode of a favorite TV show.
After a day in front of the computer, kids subject to
sensory overload will welcome products from Huggaroo. Their weighted
blankets and compression sheets calm children by providing a sense of
containment and safety.