Need for special education services, staff evident post-pandemicDate: 11/15/2022 WESTERN MASS. – Post-pandemic, families face more challenges when trying to locate services for their children with special needs.
A recent obstacle is the lack of teachers as many school districts are finding it difficult retain staff. School districts are experiencing difficulty staffing positions for special education teachers in particular as well as occupational therapists and speech therapists.
Courtney Clifford, the disabilities coordinator for the Community Action of the Pioneer Valley’s Head Start and Early Learning Programs stated, “There are staffing shortages across the commonwealth in the education sector in early childhood specifically and I think we’re all feeling the stress of that.”
She continued, “We are adjusting somewhat to the constant tension of illness, and balancing being a reliable program for families with staff safety and self-care. It’s not an easy balance. Everyone has been affected by the [coronavirus] pandemic. Children and families come with more stress than ever, and a word heard often from staff is ‘overwhelmed.’”
Clifford told Reminder Publishing they have seen the need for social-emotional intervention and support for children in their centers has increased. Developmental delays are present at an increased level and the need for intervention, for evaluations and children to receive services feels like it is more vital than ever.
Tammy Parella, the education/disabilities coordinator for Head Start, an umbrella program for Worcester Community Action Council stated, “We brought back a social emotional trainer this year. We have many children with speech and social emotional delays. We also, have a lot of children coming in still with bottles, diapers and pacifiers, lacking in the self-help skills area.” Parella has one classroom of 18 children where four are in diapers, eight who have severe social emotional needs, two are autistic and there’s only two teachers in that room due to staffing shortages.
Prity Shah, director of REACH Early Intervention Program in Hampshire County explained, “During the [coronavirus] pandemic many children were isolated from extended family, other adults and peers. This social isolation could have an impact on all aspects of development for some children.” She continued, “Skills such as following directions, talking, turn-taking and having an interest in interacting with new people were impacted by the quarantine for many children There is some research that children who had COVID [-19] are more prone to developmental delays.”
Pre-coronavirus pandemic, some of the challenges families were facing was getting to the realization that their child may have a developmental need that might require some intervention which can be difficult for families for a number of reasons. Christine Tetreault, a local attorney specializing in special education advocacy said, “It depends on the age of the child. If the child is under the age of 3, then early intervention would be the way to go, and families would get those resources from their pediatrician. Once a child is beyond the age of three, then the school district is responsible for identifying and addressing the needs of that child.”
The primary challenge when families are first looking for services is to make sure the evaluations of their child are as comprehensive as possible. It should be conducted by a highly trained professional who can create a profile of a child’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Sometimes the evaluations are not as comprehensive as they need to be,” Tetreault pointed out. “I encourage parents to get a complete picture of what their child’s actual learning disabilities or difficulties might be.”
Families may need more information about the early intervention or special education timeline and all of the steps they need to take including attending meetings and signing documents to allow for evaluations to happen. Along with scheduling, parents’ availability, childcare availability and openness to accessing services are important.
“For folks who aren’t versed in that, which is most people understandably, that process can feel a bit unfamiliar and overwhelming - and also, just knowing who to talk to,” Clifford explained. “At Head Start, my role is specifically to be available to any family in our program who has any questions about special education or early intervention services.”
There were childcare options that closed temporarily or permanently in the communities in which they operate. Their Head Start agency remained open to deliver comprehensive services to children and families throughout the coronavirus pandemic, though some services were delivered remotely due to the nature of the public health crisis. Clifford expressed how difficult it was to evaluate a young child for potential developmental delays over Zoom. She saw their local partners, early intervention partners and school partners trying to be as creative as possible to make it work, but it continued to show itself to be such a difficult way to deliver those support services to young children.
Many children didn’t receive services during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly children who are non-verbal, experience attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder – more commonly known as ADHD – or those on the autism spectrum, had an extremely difficult time accessing education online. Elizabeth Small, program director at the South-Central Kennedy-Donovan Early Intervention Program in Southbridge said they worked via telehealth, providing services mainly through Zoom or Microsoft Teams. It was video/audio for most families, but one of the biggest challenges from the coronavirus pandemic was that it was so much video for those families that work and have older children who were going to school remotely, it became hectic for them to juggle.
There was a staffing shortage in the early childhood sector prior to COVID-19, which was exacerbated by all the stressors experienced during these last several years. Early intervention providers and local education agencies continued to evaluate and deliver services to children, but due to the significant impact of this public health crisis, there were instances in which those evaluations and services were interrupted, or timelines were extended.
“We are doing our best at all times to keep continuity of care for children,” Clifford responded. “Because we know for young children especially it’s so vital that they feel a sense of safety and belonging, that they know what’s going to happen next.”
The following are links to resources and programs for families to find services in their town:
www.COPAA.org
https://edtrust.org/increasing-equity-in-early-intervention/
https://www.mass.gov/orgs/early-intervention-division
https://www.communityaction.us/
https://www.wcac.net
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/screening.html
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/milestones/
https://www.healthofchildren.com/D/Developmental-Delay.html
https://www.firstsigns.org/
https://www.p2pusa.org/
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
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