Are online classes suited for special children? Jury is out

PATNA: As schools remain closed and classes continue online, differently-abled children, who need special care and help of professional therapists, are bearing the brunt as the jury is out on whether online classes are ideally suited for their special requirements.
“Such children cannot be taught online. Instead of conducting online classes for them, we are training the parents, who then teach their kids,” said Dr Prakash Mishra, director of Arunim, a school for specially-abled children in Pataliputra Colony.
“More than educational knowledge, the specially-abled children need therapy and day-to-day practices, which cannot be done virtually. As of now, we have around 25 students and we are ensuring the training of their guardians,” Mishra added.
The situation in other districts is worse as authorities of special schools are yet to plan a training pattern for their students. ‘Aakanksha Institute for Mentally Handicapped’ director Dr Vimal Bhadani said neither the state nor the central government has issued specific guidelines regarding specially-abled children.
“We have altogether 26 visually as well as mentally handicapped children. All of them need our support in these trying times of coronavirus. Hence, the institute’s administration along with the teachers are making a specific plan for them as we have no idea for how long will the pandemic continue,” Bhadani said.
However, there are a few schools which are providing online education to special children. According to Dr Manisha Krishna, director of Utkarsh Autism Centre in Bahadurpur, teaching special children is no different than teaching those who do not have any disorders. “These specially-abled children only need innovation in teaching techniques for understanding topics like proper hearing. Hence, we ensure that they are being taught via online platforms at least for an hour and a half every day,” she said.
She added that online teaching is doing wonders for parents who are now able to understand their children in a better way. “We give them the topic a day in advance and they prepare for it. For instance, if we have to give counting lessons, parents are informed one day in advance, after which they arrange objects that would help them in understanding,” Krishna said.
Asked about the problems being faced during online teaching, Krishna said both students and teachers face several issues. “These children with developmental issues rely on us more than they do on their family. Hence, we cannot stop training them. Besides, these children adhere to a routine, which might get ruined if not followed properly,” she said.
Parents of specially-abled children say online classes are helping them maintain a routine. Jyoti Jha, who has hired a caretaker for her 18-year-old autistic grandson, said he gets ready everyday sharp at 9am and prepares himself for the class. “Digital classes have helped him increase his concentration power. Most of the time he is excited about it,” the Jagdeo Path resident said.
Managing everything has, however, become a little hectic for PC Colony resident Arpana Rani as she has to get her 10-year-old specially-abled son ready for digital class every morning. “As of now, he is attending two classes- a 90 minute speech class and an hour-long psychotherapy class. I stay with him the entire time and help him during the online class,” she said.