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SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - Already grappling with challenges such as cerebral palsy, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the transition to online learning has been yet another mountain to climb for some students of the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy. The four-year-old institution is the country's only public school that has students with and without special needs learning side by side.
"The pandemic has been a test for children with disabilities, alongside their families. The routine has changed dramatically and it has affected their learning process, as well as put extra pressure on the parents," said Aniccia Walker, who teaches four-year-olds at the school.
Stay-at-home mum Sereika Brown-Grant knows exactly what Walker means. Her five-year-old son Jourdane and seven-year-old daughter Déjanae, who has autism spectrum disorder, attend the academy. Her daughter, she said, once had a tantrum during a speech therapy session and it took 15 minutes to get her calm enough for online lessons.
"It has been harder on my seven-year-old as her attention span is not as high as Jourdane's. It's a bit easier for him to get his work done, but for [Déjanae] it's not as easy," said Brown-Grant.
She added that they have both had a hard time seeing home as a place for schoolwork as it had always been more closely associated with play.
"When Déjanae is in the mood for schoolwork, she will finish it in a jiffy, but sometimes she'll just do a little and decide not to do anymore. I think we got more out of her when she was at school," Brown-Grant said.
She told the Jamaica Observer that she focuses on helping one child a day with schoolwork so each gets the attention needed. She stressed, however, that things have got easier. She has benefited, she said, from support of caregivers at the school and her peers in the Montego Bay-based Special Needs Children Parent Support Group, which she founded and now serves as president.
Having a strong network is vital and school administrators make an extra effort to remain engaged. The academy's principal, Renee James-Rennalls, said though she has not had the opportunity to be as engaged with her students as she would have liked, she attends sessions as regularly as possible.
"I do have the opportunity to go in to observe and participate in sessions that teachers are having as well as the therapy sessions that are online," she said. The beginning of her tenure at the helm of the educational institution coincided with its doors being shuttered because of COVID-19. She acknowledged the difficulty some of her staff, parents, and children were having in making the transition to online learning.
"It is particularly challenging because the parents are required to do a lot more where student learning is concerned and sometimes they're busy," James-Rennalls explained.
She is hoping the school will be able to reopen in September, as long as it is safe to do so. The plan is to offer a hybrid model of face-to-face and online classes.
"We may not have as many days face to face as other schools because of our population, but it all depends on what the situation is in September. As things progress we will make the necessary adjustments," said the school principal. The long-term goal is to go back to full face-to-face mode, she added.The school has small class sizes of roughly 15 students.