{"id":28546,"date":"2022-01-28T00:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T00:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=28546"},"modified":"2022-01-30T15:47:41","modified_gmt":"2022-01-30T15:47:41","slug":"5-tips-to-help-preschoolers-with-special-needs-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/5-tips-to-help-preschoolers-with-special-needs-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"5 tips to help preschoolers with special needs during the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michele L. Stites<\/a>, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em> and Susan Sonnenschein<\/a>, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four months in reading. Five months in math. That\u2019s how far children are behind<\/a> where they should be for their grade level, according to a 2021 report that says the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 and the transition to virtual learning \u2013 are to blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For young children in particular, parents report that opportunities for both academic and social emotional growth were lacking during the pandemic<\/a>. But what is the effect of the pandemic on young children with disabilities, many of whom did not receive<\/a> their federally mandated special education services as many schools shifted online?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As researchers<\/a> who specialize<\/a> in issues of education for young children with disabilities<\/a>, we found that parents of such children are worried about the impact of virtual learning<\/a> because of the lack of special education services, their own child\u2019s inability to participate in virtual instruction, and the lack of opportunities for social emotional growth and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we know that parents are very busy, based on our research, here are five things parents and caregivers of young children with disabilities can do to help bridge the gap caused by the pandemic and distance learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Communicate frequently with your child\u2019s therapists and educators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the years before COVID-19 it was common for teachers and therapists \u2013 such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists and the like \u2013 to initiate communication with families. But as the pandemic persists, educators face overwhelming<\/a> staff shortages, constant COVID-19 outbreaks and children who have not been in traditional school settings for months on end in some cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Parents of children with special needs worry that their children have fallen behind. ktaylorg\/E+ via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since school faculty and staff are overwhelmed, parents may need to take the lead when it comes to communication. Emailing teachers and therapists about your child\u2019s progress is a good place to start. Meetings can be set up from there if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Create opportunities to socialize with other children<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Parents<\/a> and psychologists<\/a> have reported that missing out on opportunities for socialization is one of the biggest side effects of the pandemic. Consider reaching out to parents of your child\u2019s classmates to set up small social gatherings where children can practice age-appropriate socialization skills, such as sharing and taking turns. Being COVID-19 responsible is important, so be sure to follow local safety guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also work with different advocacy groups like the Special Olympics<\/a> to see what types of programs are available in your area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Work on goals in the child\u2019s individualized education program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A child\u2019s individualized education program should outline the child\u2019s strengths and weaknesses. The IEP should also include goals to support learning in all areas, such as language skills, social skills and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking teachers and therapists about how those goals are being addressed at school can give parents ideas about how to naturally incorporate them into a child\u2019s daily routine. For example, if a child is working on counting items one at a time, parents can count oranges at the grocery store or Goldfish crackers on a lunch plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Take a play-based approach to learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Embedding learning into play allows parents to teach their child<\/a> without the formality \u2013 and, let\u2019s face it, dullness \u2013 of tools like flashcards and worksheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading and asking questions, playing games like Go Fish where children can identify colors and numbers, spraying a small amount of shaving cream on a flat surface and writing letters in it, and even counting snowballs can be used as learning opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Engage children in conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Providing young children opportunities to hear and practice language is critical for their learning. Taking time to talk with a young child is particularly important when the child has a disability. It is also important to give the child the needed time to answer questions. Parents can demonstrate responses for the child to repeat as necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incorporating some of these ideas into a daily routine can go a long way<\/a> in bridging the gaps left in the wake of COVID-19 and virtual learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Like what you\u2019ve read? Want more?<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s daily newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michele L. Stites<\/a>, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em> and Susan Sonnenschein<\/a>, Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michele L. Stites, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Susan Sonnenschein, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Four months in reading. Five months in math. That\u2019s how far children are behind where they should be for their grade level, according to a 2021 report that says the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 and the transition to virtual learning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":28547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292],"tags":[11232,7689,7737,1737,8670,8525,3297,2817,11231,11230,8552],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28546"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28546"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28554,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28546\/revisions\/28554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}