Children with Disabilities and Online Learning

Fifth grader Dyson Wolf does schooling online like any other public kid in Broward County. He wakes up at 7:00 in the morning just to be at his desk by 8:00 for the start of a new school day. 

But, Wolf is a little different than most of the kids at his school. He has autism, which means he needs more attention and special education. 

He is a student at Lakeside Elementary, which has a program that provides special education for students like Wolf and before the pandemic, the amiable fifth grader loved to go to school. 

“I used to play a lot of games with my best friends and my teachers, ” said Wolf. 

Now that all BCPS students are learning online, parents of special needs children, like Wolf’s mother Lizzy Pardo, worry that their children aren’t getting the proper education they need. She is a single mother and has to stay home because she has no one else to watch over her son. 

“I can tell he isn’t enjoying himself and isn’t properly learning,” said Pardon. “It hurts me knowing he is suffering like that.”

This frustrates her and so many others who are going through the same thing. According to the U.S. Department of Education more than seven million of public school students receive special education services. And, even though all learning is currently taking place online, public schools must continue to provide online learning for children with disabilities.

 That’s hard to do virtually as children with special needs face many hardships, including verbal communication and body language. When at school, teachers are able to work with them, physically and can easily address any problems. Online schooling is hard for them since sitting still is something most kids have a hard time and then there’s their attention span. 

Children like Wolf can get distracted and will often throw fits. Pardo has a hard time trying to keep Wolf focused in classes, since he is now having to sit for almost six hours a day, maybe more when it comes to homework. His mother says there have been times where he has thrown fits in class from how long he has to stay seated.

Pardo needs for her son to go back to school, yet with the virus spreading, she doesn’t feel comfortable.

“I don’t want him to go back to school. I don’t feel comfortable since he is a very curious child and likes to touch things,” said Pardo. “But right now, I don’t have any other option.”

Children are curious and when they are curious, they tend to touch stuff. The school says that there will be strict rules about not sharing things but Pardo knows that some kids will not listen to this and she understands that. She says she doesn’t know where the other students and their families stand about going back to school. But, for her, it’s a matter of survival.

“I need to go back to work and be able to take care and provide for the both of us,”said Pardo.