BENGALURU: Staying indoors, social distancing and maintaining calm... the Covid-19 lockdown has brought in a testing times for residents. But for parents of children with intellectual challenges, the situation has given rise to new-found worries, especially with their kids having to stay indoors.
For 42-year-old homemaker Pratima, a mother of two – David (7) and Glevina (15) – and both having autism, the shutdown of schools and outdoor activities has pushed her to look for new alternatives. “It is difficult to manage without school and therapy sessions. We have currently resorted to indoor activities. My son also has ADHD, so we keep him occupied with games and also work on the goals set by his therapist, whether it is language targets or academics.
I pair these goals in the form of movement activities. I also make them focus on leisure skills such as artwork and simple craft,” says Pratima, adding that she has also involved her kids in daily household activities in order to instil in them life skills, hoping to make them independent. While she has also taken up online speech therapy sessions for her children, the uncertainty leaves her concerned with daily outdoor routines coming to a halt. Sivapriya Hariharasudan (40), a special education teacher, also shares a similar concern with her six-year-old daughter Rakshika, who has Down syndrome. While she emphasises that she was prepared beforehand as her daughter’s school was about to close for summer vacations, staying indoors is what concerns her the most.
“I am a special educator, so I keep her academics in frame for at least a couple of hours in a day. I sit with her to paint and since her father is also working from home, that becomes an added advantage. But I am also trying to make sure that she doesn’t disrupt his zone of work. I have curated a set of special activities for one month, which is followed regularly and gives her a daily routine. The main constraint is that she can’t step out to meet her friends and that is a major drawback,” said Hariharasudan, adding that being cooped up within four walls is the challenge.
For Shalini Saran Gupta, mother of Gayatri Gupta, an 18-year-old girl with Down syndrome, previous measures were taken in the form of homeschooling, with instructors coming home, all of which has come to a close in order to maintain social distancing. “Her speech therapist was already holding online sessions and we have encouraged other instructors to go online as well, with her special education session to start on Monday. She does miss going out to the gym since her condition makes her prone to putting on weight. I have replaced that with indoor workouts on our balcony. While she is quite occupied with the activities such as art sessions, I am also taking extra steps to keep her involved and she is very happy staying indoors for now,” she says.