[ad_1]
by Mary (Galer) Herschelman
After nearly two weeks out of the classroom, missing the therapy services he desperately needs, first-grader Glenn O’Dell is back at Beckemeyer Elementary School.
Son of Koran and Tori O’Dell from Panama, he was exposed to COVID in a school classroom on September 22. Although O’Dell wore a mask, the Hillsboro School District can no longer require all students to wear masks due to a temporary restraining order, first issued on September 17 and upheld by the court on September 24.
Currently, positive cases of COVID in the community and the school district tend to decrease. However, the district is seeing an increase in close contacts per positive case, as well as mandatory quarantines per case.
According to Superintendent David Powell, from the start of the year to Sept. 17, close contacts per positive case were 5.5, with 0.9 quarantine mandatory per positive case. As of September 20, close contacts per case have stood at 9.4, with 8.6 mandatory quarantines per case. Powell said this was due to several factors when both sides weren’t wearing masks, including increasing the radius from three feet to six feet and losing the test option to stay. Before September 20, lunchtime in the cafeteria was the only chance for children to be exhibited without a mask, and now that exhibit is also falling in the classroom.
Because not all of the children in his class were wearing masks at the time of his COVID exposure, O’Dell was not eligible for the test program to stay and his family cooperated with the district’s quarantine request.
“I got a call in the middle of a day at work that Glenn had been exposed and I needed to pick him up,” said his mother, Tori. “They told me I had to call the health department to find a plan.”
After contacting the health department, the O’Dells found out Glenn would need to be quarantined for five days, then he could take a regular (not quick) COVID test.
If he came back negative, he could go back to school earlier. His September 28 test came back negative and Glenn returned to his classroom on Monday October 4 after more than a week and a half of absence.
“It might not seem like a lot of time, but he’s not a neurotypical child,” Tori said of Glenn, who was diagnosed with autism. “He doesn’t have school breaks like other kids because he loses his routine and starts to lose skills.”
His mother went on to explain that autism is a social disorder, which does not affect Glenn’s understanding or intelligence, but rather his ability to interact with his peers in a social setting.
When all school districts switched to distance learning in March 2020, O’Dell felt like they were losing a lot of ground in the skills they had worked so hard to achieve.
“Technically it is considered non-verbal, although it has an extensive vocabulary. He just doesn’t know how to use those words functionally in a social setting, ”she said. “Over a year and a half later, we’re still trying to catch up.”
For the O’Dells, universal masks are just one way that gives all children the chance to stay in school.
“We had a really good year in kindergarten last year,” she said. “They were able to keep the schools open year round, and we were lucky that we didn’t have to quarantine. “
The O’Dells were delighted that Glenn was able to be in the regular class longer than they expected.
“It’s important that other kids interact with Glenn as well, because as they get older they will be making decisions that will affect Glenn and kids like Glenn,” Tori said. “One of the great things about our school district is that they work so hard for inclusion. They do a very good job, and it is thanks to the hard work of teachers and parents.
While the temporary restraining order remains in effect, the O’Dells are worried about another pause in in-person learning.
“We cannot provide him with the services he needs at home,” she said. “It has to be in a social setting, and we rely on the school district for services.”
O’Dell said that currently the only therapy services Glenn receives are in the school district, as they continue to struggle with coverage for outside services. Additionally, the family had to cancel an appointment for a new type of therapy that they had been waiting for months because Glenn had been exposed to COVID.
“If all the kids had worn masks, Glenn could have tested to stay, and since he was negative, we could have gone to this appointment,” Tori said. “Now we don’t even have a new date yet.”
She hopes that by starting a new therapy program, Glenn will make enough progress to be eligible again for additional speech-language pathology services outside of school.
Another aspect of extra quarantines is that it is often difficult to find child care for working parents. For the O’Dells, it’s even more difficult because not everyone is equipped to take care of Glenn.
“I can’t just hire a babysitter,” Tori said. “We are really lucky that our family can step in when we need it, but not all families are so fortunate. “
Especially when the universal masking solution reduces exposure to COVID at school.
“It’s hard for me to hear the idea that masks are a violation of student rights,” Tori said. “I have a child who falls into a category of underdog, as do many children with special needs or disabilities. He has the right to the same education as other children.
She added that she understands that children don’t always like to wear masks, but noted that parents often impose things that children may not want to do, such as eating vegetables or going to bed.
“But having the option of not wearing a mask actually infringes on my child’s right to an equal education,” she said. “Sometimes you have to have the discernment to say that maybe it is not right that children have to wear masks, but it is like that.”
[ad_2]
Source link