Tips for Parents on How to Adapt to a Special Education Remote-Learning Environment

SAN Insights

 Tips for Parents on How to Adapt to a Special Education Remote-Learning Environment

 For many families, one of the most challenging aspects of the pandemic has been ensuring that their children continue to receive the education they need. This has especially been the case for parents of children with disabilities. Initially, many service providers closed due to the stay-at-home orders. Since these facilities have started to reopen, staff, parents and children continually need to adjust to the new learning environment.

Across the country, states and individual school districts have taken wildly different approaches to education during the pandemic. For many families, remote-learning has become the new norm. Shifting from in-person education to remote-learning can present difficulties for parents of children with disabilities. Below are a few tips parents can use to help them navigate the new educational landscape.    

·    Adjust Expectations – For students with an IEP, the IEP remains effective regardless of whether they are enrolled in virtual learning. However, certain services provided for in the IEP may no longer be available. Additionally, some students may be dealing with a greater achievement gap given the sudden shift to online learning toward the end of last year’s academic year. Parents should not hesitate to address these changes, and can set up an IEP meeting to discuss their child’s goals and progress with educators.

·    Focus on Friends – Over the past few months, ensuring that a child gets the appropriate amount of social interaction has been a challenge. While it may have initially been tempting to wait until it is safe to go out and socialize freely, there is no real estimate of when that will be. Thus, parents should be sure to set aside time for their children to socialize. Of course, while being mindful of the health risks of close contact.

·    Be Available – Children must adjust to the new learning environment, even more so than parents. Thus, parents will benefit from setting aside time early on in the school year to ensure that their children understand how remote-learning works and what is expected of them.

·    Maintain a Schedule – Children, especially those with disabilities, need consistency. If a student knows that they will be logging on to school every day at 10 a.m., they will eventually become used to the routine, making it easier on the parents and child. When setting up a schedule, it is important to be realistic. For example, a child cannot sit in front of a computer for eight hours at a time and remain productive. Instead, consider allowing children to take frequent short breaks and let them determine how they spend their break time (just as they would at recess).

·    Stay Positive – It may help to remember that parents, students and educators are all in this together. This is a challenging time for most families who are relying on distance-learning. And while remote-learning for a child with a disability may raise additional hurdles, they can be overcome with patience and support.

·    Know Your Rights – Schools must still provide all the necessary services during the pandemic. Earlier this year, school districts struggled with how to provide the necessary support for students with special needs while ensuring a safe environment. That said, over the past few months, significant changes have been made. However, if a school is not meeting its requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, families should reach out to a special education advocate to go over their options.