Dr. Radesky said: “Teachers are a great attachment to children, especially when teachers really understand it, they really click with children.” There is much more contextual social information when children are in the classroom, he said, and that’s even more important for children struggling with social interactions.
It was new for her son to express his feelings verbally, Eliza said, but he said: “I am alone, nobody wants to play with me anymore, this virus took everything from me.” To find comfort, “He would go to his room and put on a lot of blankets, and just look into space.” When his mother came in to keep him company, he asked her, when will this virus disappear?
Her mother was able to adjust the expectations of the school and, academically, things improved, which helped decrease aggression and anxiety. But she still had to be there with him for everything he was doing and learning virtually, keeping him focused, offering him incentives.
“The parents are completely exhausted,” said Dr. Costello. “You cannot underestimate the cost that this is affecting both children and parents.” He said sleep-wake cycles are disabled, programs and camps are canceled, including camps designed to help prevent children with special needs from losing the progress they have made during the summer.
“I get more requests for medications even from parents who were traditionally reluctant to medicate their children,” he said.
Dr. Augustyn said that some families “are finally feeling a little encouraged,” now that the school year is over. “I feel like there is a lot of strength out there, parents know what they want and children are reading to their parents,” said Dr. Augustyn. “The parental response, especially for children with developmental disabilities, is very important.”
The general advice for parents is to build as much structure and consistency as possible; These tend to be kids who really get better with established sleeping and eating times, for activities, therapy, and learning.
