Children with Special Needs More Vulnerable during Covid-19 Pandemic

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Deva Meiza Pradana, a student with special needs with disabilities, is preparing to take the national exam at the YKK Extraordinary Middle School (SMPLB), Pacitan, East Java, Tuesday (23/4/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a major blow to children with special needs and their parents. In addition to facing the risk of being infected with the disease, children with special needs are also prone to learning and emotional disorders because therapy services have to be stopped and distance learning is difficult for them.

The children with special need are vulnerable to contracting Covid-19. In Banjarmasin, for example, a child development clinic requires students and therapists to undergo a swab test before reopening face-to-face therapy classes. As a result, 17 of 24 children tested positive for Covid-19. Some therapists were infected with the disease.

Also read: Guarantee Special-Needs Children’s Right to Education during the Outbreak

Educational programs for students with special needs are not optimal either. "As there are no activities, children may hurt themselves," said Budi Prasojo, the principal of Rawinala, special school for special-needs children in Jakarta last week.

Juli Gracia, owner of the AGCA Center, also a special school for children with special needs, said the strict application of health protocols was a must as most children with special needs had congenital diseases disorders.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Two children with disabilities wait in the waiting room for passengers with special needs at Jenderal Ahmad Yani International Airport, Semarang City, Central Java, Tuesday (21/10/2019).

Many therapy providers for children with special needs have to close because the difficulty in complying with health protocols. In Bandung, Gita Pratiwi (30), a mother of a special-needs child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), faces difficulty in finding a therapy center for her kid.

A number of parents of children with special needs are also pulling double duty. Adelheid Irene M (38), a mother of a special needs child with a speech problem, for example, not only works but also accompanies and teaches her child during the pandemic.

Difficulty

If parents wait too long to tackle the issue, such children can suffer mental and problems

Women\'s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministerial Regulation No.4/2017 concerning special protection for children with disabilities categorizes children with disabilities as children with physical, intellectual, mental, and / or sensory limitations.

According to 2018 basic health research, the proportion of children with disabilities aged 5-17 years reached 3.3 percent. According to data issued by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the level of school participation of children with disabilities is quite low.

Annelia Sari Sani, the head of the Covid-19 task force for the Indonesian clinical psychologists association, said that children with special needs were quite vulnerable during the pandemic, especially those with learning and emotional disorders. "If parents wait too long to tackle the issue, such children can suffer mental and problems," she said.

Also read: Love for Special Children

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Children with disabilities study at Kusuma Bangsa Special School, Anggoya Village, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Friday (13/9/2019). Millions of children with special needs in Indonesia do not have access to education due to various obstacles.

Based on a survey conducted by the Indonesian Association of Clinical Psychologists on 4,366 children with special needs, there were five problems mostly experienced by the children with special needs during the pandemic, namely learning difficulties, stress, anxiety, mood problems, and physical and verbal abuse.

Bernie Endyarni Medise, a pediatrician, consultant for growth and development at the Department of Medicine, University of Indonesia and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, said that access for children with special needs to health services was very limited. Some parents are reluctant to take their children to health facilities while therapy services are mostly closed.

"There are 49 regencies / cities that do not have physiotherapists and 389 regencies / cities do not have occupational therapists and speech therapists, the director for the child health department at the Health Ministry, Erna Mulati said.

Therefore, the role of parents is important in dealing with children with special needs. The government must publish a module improve the capacity of parents in taking care of children with special needs. (TAN/SON/MED/JUM/MEL/BRO)