Parents of North Texas special needs children work to make virtual learning effective
Parents of North Texas special needs children work to make virtual learning effective
Camden Russell, who has autism, is in sixth grade and it’s his first year at Cockrill Middle School in McKinney. Since school started last week, his mother, Candace Russell, says there have been many technical issues.
McKINNEY, Texas - As many parents are struggling to navigate the world of virtual learning, some are in an even more difficult situation -- they're parents of students with special needs.
FOX4 spoke with parents of autistic children on Friday, who said if they leave their child's side during remote learning they have emotional meltdowns. The challenges are making things difficult for parents with additional kids or jobs.
Camden Russell, who has autism, is in sixth grade and it’s his first year at Cockrill Middle School in McKinney. Since school started last week, his mother, Candace Russell, says there have been many technical issues.
“He was doing a great job trying to calm himself down, catch his breath, pep talk himself to be patient,” Russell said.
As a stay-at-home mom, Russell says she is more fortunate than many other parents of special needs students.
“I am sitting next to my son 90 percent of the day to help him attend to his laptop and working out the screens,” Russell said.
But the mom says it is difficult for her to provide much assistance for her fifth grader, who is also learning virtually.
“It's been a little tricky juggling both, my fifth grader likes to do well. He's felt at times he will be in trouble if he can't submit assignments,” Russell said.
The state has said districts must provide in-person instruction to special education students that are unable to learn remotely. Nagla Moussa with the National Autism Association of North Texas says districts need to provide an in-person option for all special needs children.
“They haven’t been at school since March regressed a great deal, these students need services now. Whether school or school contracts out with therapy place, that needs to happen,” Moussa said.
Russell is not sure when she will be allowed to send Camden back to school. She believes parents of special needs kids should all be given the option for their children to learn in the classroom.
“I said if any board member wants to come to our home to see what our home is like for a special needs kid to navigate this, I would be more than welcome to let them see,” Russell said.
McKinney ISD has said it will begin offering in-person instruction for all families who choose it September 3. Frisco ISD is already offering in person instruction for all of its special needs students.