Someone did a survey on Facebook trying to find out if
parents would send their children to school should it reopen.
I was surprised at the number of people who said yes, I also said yes and added that I am actually tired of being home.
I am a mother of a child with special educational needs,
cerebral palsy, specifically and I have been home since the 12th of
March, yes earlier than when President Akuffo-Addo announced the closure of
schools.
Before the 12th of March, my daughter who is in
class one in a government mainstream education, was told not to come to school
on the 12th of March, that day was a day designated for sports in
the school and she cannot participate
That meant I had to skip work and take care of her at home,
I was looking forward to taking her to school on Monday when the announcement
of the closure of schools as a result of Covid 19 came on the 15th
of March.
I have been home since, thanks to the fact that some
workplaces in compliance with the social distancing protocol divided workers
and the fact that my husband got some 10 days break after going to work every
10 days, I would have been stuck at home since March
I told a friend recently that any opportunity to step out of
the house without the children is luxury for me, think of the fact that
anytime, I am stepping out, be it to the market or anywhere, I have to carry a
seven year old girl on my back in addition to two younger ones
But even before Covid 19, most parents of children with
cerebral palsy do not really come into the picture when we talk about
education, one of the reasons I feel that covid 19 has really exposed our flaws
toward humanity
So my daughter with cerebral palsy is in school and depends
on other humans to live comfortably, someone has to feed her, someone has to
help her drink water, even though she is toilet trained, when she is going to
school we have to put her in diapers because she needs help to use the school
toilet.
Definitely if schools should reopen tomorrow or the next,
she will still need human support to be able to stay comfortably in school, she
may not be able to be in mask the whole time she is in school, she cannot wash
her hands independently nor use the sanitizer independently.
Because she has been a child who has been to school
throughout her life, I can feel she is tired of being at home and I can imagine
how frustrated she will be if her siblings can go back to school and she is
left at home.
She is not the only one tired of being home, her mother is
tired of handling her all the time and that two to four hour break when she is
away from is considered respite.
Besides the opportunity for my daughter to be at school and
mingle with other children has been of great help to boosting her social life
and confidence. Because of the orientation given her other classmates when she
joined them in the class, she has neither being mocked nor shunned for her
disability, rather, she has been embraced and loved by her peers to my
admiration.
That is why I seriously believe that in considering the
reopening of schools for all children to go to school, children with
disabilities or special educational needs should be greatly considered and
planned for.
This era should even be an avenue to discuss how we can
cater for children with disabilities and groom them for a good social life and
also explore the potentials they possess.
I was recently invited by the Centre for Learning and
Childhood Disabilities (CLCD) to talk about reopening of schools in this Covid
19 era, from a caregivers experience and I shared my journey of how challenging
it has been to try and enrol my daughter with cerebral palsy into school.
My experiences resonated with lot of special needs families,
some even felt I was better placed since they have not even had the opportunity
to enrol their children into school.
In my presentation for the CLCD workshop, I recommended the
use of National Service persons, NABCO persons and students doing internships
to enhance the human resource capacities of schools and serve as support to
schools.
I have earlier said that Caregiving should be considered a
profession, I once met a Lady who has completed the University and she said
caring for children with Special Needs was her passion so she works with such
children in schools or other establishments.
The challenge for many parents has been that some of these
establishments are so expensive that it is not affordable at all to the average
income earner.
In that case, only the priviledged in terms of wealth, are
able to afford anything close to education for their children with disabilities
or special educational needs.
Meanwhile if the government assigned National Service
Persons or NABCO persons to such schools, they could be trained to handle these
children under supervision and it will be a win-win situation for all.
I think that Caregiving is one employment avenue that we
haven’t explored as a country and the earlier we start exploring, the better
for the country.
I will continue to say that Inclusive Education is possible,
it is our willingness to accept all children into our educational system that
remains.
As we continue discussions on ‘Living with the virus’ and
reopening of schools may we all have children with special educational needs in
mind
