Since Schools Have Closed Parents of Special Needs Children ‘wearing many hats’

With 8-year-old triplets who go to school in Encinitas, each one on the autism spectrum, Jeff Ladman and his wife Tara felt “like the rug’s been pulled out from underneath” them when the novel coronavirus pandemic closed schools in mid-March and reduced therapy sessions to online only. Two of their sons, second-graders Keith and Holden, have class with special education and mainstream teachers at Flora Vista and are “high functioning,” Ladman said. The third, Jarrett, […]

Rethinking School Startup for Students with Special Needs

Post-pandemic brings new realities, problem-solving to the issues of mandated transportation for the most vulnerable student population. By Amanda Pampuro Getting vulnerable kids to school has always been challenging, but the spread of COVID-19 brings a whole new set of problems. How do you rearrange the school bus so students with wheelchairs are sitting far enough apart to adhere to physical distancing requirements? How do bus drivers and monitors adhere to those same standards when […]

Learning Remotely Is A Struggle For Students With Special Needs

Shanna Henderson says the coronavirus pandemic has triggered some of the most difficult moments of her life. She temporarily lost her job as a dental hygienist, and the statewide shift to remote learning left her scrambling to educate her six kids at home. But job security and playing teacher aren’t as difficult as managing the “profound behavioral challenges” of her 13-year-old son with severe autism and bipolar disorder, Henderson told Idaho Education News. “We now have […]

Studying Baby Steps Could Lead To Better Treatments For Cerebral Palsy

By understanding more about walking and balance, researchers hope to develop new treatments for cerebral palsy. Understanding the progression from the stepping reflex to independent walking could help find new therapies for children with cerebral palsy (CP) – a movement disability caused by brain damage before, during or shortly after birth. A baby’s first steps are a magical moment – an early stepping stone towards independent walking. Children usually begin to walk around the time […]

Uncertainty Is Specially Hard For Special-Needs Children During the Virus Lockdown

Weeks into France’s strict coronavirus lockdown, Mohammed, a 14-year-old with autism, took a pickax and started hitting the wall of his family’s house. His explanation: “Too long at home, too hard to wait.” The disruptions in daily life caused by the virus pandemic are a particularly trying ordeal for children with disabilities and the people who love and are caring for them confined at home while special-needs schools and support programs remain closed. Mohammed hasn’t […]