Implications of COVID-19 on School Services for Children with Disabilities: Opportunities for Interagency Collaboration

Health and Education Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities

OBJECTIVE

Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic affected children with disabilities is essential for future public health emergencies. We compared children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with those with another developmental disability (DD) and from the general population (POP) regarding (1) missed or delayed appointments for regular health/dental services, immunizations, and specialty services; (2) reasons for difficulty accessing care; and (3) use of remote learning and school supports.

METHOD

Caregivers of children previously enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development, a case-control study of children with ASD implemented during 2017 to 2020, were recontacted during January-June 2021 to learn about services during March-December 2020. Children were classified as ASD, DD, or POP during the initial study and were aged 3.4 to 7.5 years when their caregivers were recontacted during the pandemic.

RESULTS

Over half of all children missed or delayed regular health/dental appointments (58.4%-65.2%). More children in the ASD versus DD and POP groups missed or delayed specialty services (75.7%, 58.3%, and 22.8%, respectively) and reported difficulties obtaining care of any type because of issues using telehealth and difficulty wearing a mask. During school closures, a smaller proportion of children with ASD versus another DD were offered live online classes (84.3% vs 91.1%), while a larger proportion had disrupted individualized education programs (50.0% vs 36.2%).

CONCLUSION

Minimizing service disruptions for all children and ensuring continuity of specialty care for children with ASD is essential for future public health emergencies. Children may need additional services to compensate for disruptions during the pandemic.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Young Children and Families: A Qualitative Study Using Best Starts for Kids Health Survey Data in King County, WA

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents and caregivers with young children in King County, Washington using data from a local population-based survey, the Best Starts for Kids Health Survey (BSKHS).

METHODS

7033 parents and caregivers in King County, Washington with children 5th grade and younger participated in the BSKHS in 2021. Three evaluators adopted a framework method approach to thematic analysis for open-ended survey responses regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on families.

RESULTS

Children aged 0-5 years missed important social development opportunities, while elementary-school children missed social interactions and felt isolated during remote schooling. Parents were exhausted by the competing demands of work and schooling/childcare, with mothers bearing the brunt of additional responsibilities. Many families faced financial uncertainty and were unable to meet basic needs. Yet, families were grateful for more quality time with family members.

CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE

Parents expressed that children aged 0-5 years missed out on social development opportunities with both adults and children their own age and elementary-school children and felt isolated while schools were closed to in-person schooling.

"It's already stressful being a foster parent": A qualitative inquiry into foster parenting stress during COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Emerging literature suggests parents were under increased stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, fewer studies to date have examined the wellbeing of foster parents in this season. Miller et al.'s (2020) quantitative study recommended in-depth, qualitative study of the stressors faced by foster parents during COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE

Accordingly, this qualitative study sought to fill a gap in the literature regarding foster parents' lived experiences of foster parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Virtual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with n = 20 foster parents from across one Southern U.S. state between April and July 2021.

METHODS

Verbatim transcripts were analyzed utilizing Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Five themes emerged in the analysis: (1) Varied Descriptions of Fostering in a Pandemic; (2) Nowhere to Go; (3) COVID-Consciousness; (4) The Virtual Reality; and (5) Stress Relief. Eight total additional subthemes were recorded. All themes and subthemes were described with representative direct quotations from the data.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study demonstrated foster parents experienced both shared and unique parenting challenges during COVID-19. Three areas for further consideration and development in practice included improving online service delivery, strengthening guidance for online parent-child visitation, and enhancing support for foster parents of children with special needs. Developing social support and self-care practices should continue to be ongoing priorities for foster parents and foster parent-serving agencies.

Challenges experienced by U.S. K-12 public schools in serving students with special education needs or underlying health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies for improved accessibility

BACKGROUND

Students with special education needs or underlying health conditions have been disproportionately impacted (e.g., by reduced access to services) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

This study describes challenges reported by schools in providing services and supports to students with special education needs or underlying health conditions and describes schools' use of accessible communication strategies for COVID-19 prevention.

METHODS

This study analyzes survey data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. K-12 public schools (n = 420, February-March 2022). Weighted prevalence estimates of challenges in serving students with special education needs or underlying health conditions and use of accessible communication strategies are presented. Differences by school locale (city/suburb vs. town/rural) are examined using chi-square tests.

RESULTS

The two most frequently reported school-based challenges were staff shortages (51.3%) and student compliance with prevention strategies (32.4%), and the two most frequently reported home-based challenges were the lack of learning partners at home (25.5%) and lack of digital literacy among students' families (21.4%). A minority of schools reported using accessible communications strategies for COVID-19 prevention efforts, such as low-literacy materials (7.3%) and transcripts that accompany podcasts or videos (6.7%). Town/rural schools were more likely to report non-existent or insufficient access to the internet at home and less likely to report use of certain accessible communication than city/suburb schools.

CONCLUSION

Schools might need additional supports to address challenges in serving students with special education needs or with underlying health conditions and improve use of accessible communication strategies for COVID-19 and other infectious disease prevention.

Early childhood educators' provision of remote learning during COVID-19

This study utilized a nationally distributed survey to explore early childhood teachers' experience of providing remote learning to young children and their families during the early months of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used to analyze 805 participants' responses to closed and open-ended survey questions. Results indicated that teachers provided various remote learning activities and spent more time planning instruction and communicating with families than providing instruction directly to children. Early childhood teachers reported several positive aspects of remote learning and various challenges during the initial months of the pandemic. Study findings are discussed in the context of policy and practical implications for supporting early childhood teachers to deliver high-quality and developmentally appropriate remote learning for all young children and their families.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on therapy service delivery and functioning for school-aged children with disabilities in the United States

Background

Objective/Hypothesis

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Teachers’ practices during COVID-19: Practices and perspectives in elementary and secondary settings

COVID-19 affected modes of instruction and instructional processes across K to 12 classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine K-12 teaching practices in one large district during COVID-19 and whether there were differences in overall practices, affect, and confidence, and regarding remote teaching between elementary and secondary teachers. Further, their professional development experiences were examined and their evaluation of those. 97 PreK to grade 12 teachers completed a survey regarding their confidence and affect to teach writing and reading, and provide remote instruction. Teachers also shared specific practices they engaged in during remote instruction and when working with special education and English Language Learners, described the types of professional development they received, their evaluation of their experience, and commented on their college-preparation. Overall, teachers did not find remote instruction of writing and reading as effective, but they commented on the potential of online instruction to be continued after the pandemic if they were provided with adequate support. Further, differences were found between elementary and secondary teachers on their affect and confidence for teaching writing and reading but not for remote instruction. Finally, teachers’ comments indicate the need for ongoing PD to address instructional and implementation needs. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.