Hopefully, Our Children Can Go to Therapy Again...

It is not easy to take care of children with special needs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Parents have to work more than usual as they have to be a companion, a therapist and a teacher for their children.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

Children with Down syndrome perform the Jaranan dance during the Children\'s Day Festival at the Office of the Coordinating Board for Social Welfare Activities (BKKKS), East Java Province, Surabaya, Thursday (27/8/2020). This activity is to provide creative space for children, especially those with special needs.

Gita Pratiwi (30), mother of Abam (4), a child with special needs (ABK) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), face difficulty in finding a therapy center during the pandemic.

Gita’s son urgently needs a therapy class. Gita has visited more than four therapy centers in Bandung, West Java, but only one remains open.

As Abam tends to be very active and unusually energetic, he must be given many activities. At home, Gita has prepared various toys for therapy, such as stacking blocks, Lego pieces and plasticine.

"I venture out of the house because Abam really needs a therapy. His development will be slower if he is not treated immediately,” said Gita.

Also read: Children with Special Needs More Vulnerable during Covid-19 Pandemic

Through routine therapy, she hopes, Abam can interact with those around him and become a more independent person. "I am somewhat worried that there is no progress in my child during the pandemic. The abilities he has to achieve require therapy,” she said.

The pandemic has made Gita more patient in trying to understand her son. Due to the pandemic, Gita accompanies Abam more often.

The pandemic also poses a tough challenge for Sarah Kumala Dewi (37) and Narko (43), who live in Bandung. Their eldest son, Alanis (10), has cerebral palsy (CP) since birth. The disorder affects his ability to move and maintain balance and posture.

I am somewhat worried that there is no progress in my child during the pandemic. The abilities he has to achieve require therapy

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarah and Narko had resumed therapy for their child, which had earlier been stopped completely. However, after only two treatments, the therapy for Alanis was stopped again due to the pandemic.

A problem occurred when Narko’s business of selling musical instrument bags was severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sarah and her husband then became egg traders. “Hopefully Covid-19 will end soon and our economy will improve, so that our child can go to therapy again," said Sarah.

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

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

Children with Down syndrome release balloons of prayer and hope during an event to mark World Down Syndrome Day themed "Great Down Syndrome Children" on 24 March 2019 in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. Special needs children, just like all children, need to feel accepted, understood, loved, and supported to become independent and outstanding individuals.

Home visit

In Karawang, therapy activities for children with special needs at the Amanda Learning Center (ALC) were also stopped in March 2020. However, a number of parents encouraged the therapy service provider to reopen to help handle their children. The therapy activities are carried out through home visits. The therapists visit the houses of the children with special needs and provide modules once a week.

"Some parents have difficulty in assisting their children with the modules provided by the therapists. They don\'t really understand how to handle their children. Many others also complain that their children are more difficult to handle because they have not undergone therapy for a long time. The pandemic also makes it difficult for us to monitor their development, " Kholid Nurcholish, the cofounder of ALC, said on Thursday (10/9/2020).

That afternoon, six children with special needs underwent therapy at ALC. They sat on chairs, spaced part apart from each other. They were allowed to take a therapy in class because they were considered to have understood the instruction to wear masks.

Also read: Love for Special Children

Children were allowed to remove masks only when resting or eating. Once class starts, all had to wear their masks again.

"Wear your masks," said Rafi (11), a special-needs child with a speech delay problem.

Social and physical restrictions affect the activities of children with special needs. The routine morning walk before class was is skipped now, even though such activities are deemed important to train the children’s motor and sensory skills. School ends at noontime now, rather than lasting until the evening as in the past. ALC does not conduct online learning, because the children need direct stimulation to support their development.