A BANGING sound from the front door jolted her mid-morning musing, driblets of black coffee dropping from the white porcelain cup she held.
In three wide strides Helen reached the door and flung it open; only to see her 11-year old child banging the steel lever on their gate.
“I want to go out, mom! Please let me go out,” the child pleaded. The 41 -year old mother could only rush to give her child with autism a hug.
It was the 13th day of a lockdown on Metro Manila.
According to The Independent Living Learning Centre founder Abelardo Apollo I. David Jr. the imposition of community quarantines has added to the burden in the therapy of children like Helen’s. David noted that the quarantines effectively disallowed children aged 0-years old to 20-years-old from going out.
“If before they [children with autism] are used to big spaces, now their movement is limited inside the house and they can’t even express themselves,” David said, adding this situation would sometime lead to their “meltdown.”
Sensing trouble
David, who has a degree in occupational therapy from the University of the Philippines-Manila, said inone of the online news briefings organized by the Department of Health (DOH), that children with disabilities “don’t have the chance to avail the services that they need like physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.”
He added: “A child with cerebral palsy requires physical therapy session. A child with autism is probably confused now [about] what is going on and needs specialized equipment to self-regulate so that he will not end up hurting himself. He or she has to undergo occupational therapy. A child who finds it difficult for him or her to eat needs speech therapy not only for his or her safety but for his or her quality of life.”
According to Juan Carlos C. Saquin, a UK-certified play therapist, the biggest loser to the lockdown is the children, especially children with special needs.
In an interview for the BusinessMirror BM Broader Look podcast, Saquin said children were displaced from their “jobs.”
“Like adults, children also perform certain ‘jobs’: they have to go to school; they have to play; they need to be immersed in different kinds of sensory experiences; and, they need to mingle with each other,” said Saquin, who also runs the 3-year-old private school Angel Beats Development Center. “That all disappeared in a snap.”
Using gadgets
HOWEVER, the lockdown measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 also cut the ability of parents to sustain therapy for their child with special needs.
Helen told the BusinessMirror it became very difficult for her and her husband physically and financially. She runs an eatery while her husband is an office employee.
Helen said that since her business stopped operating, she has had to rely on the income of her husband for, aside from her child with autism, she has two more to attend to.
Her child with special needs skipped therapy session for financial reasons. Helen said it has been very difficult to pacify her child since then.
“He was running inside the house, shouting and banging his body on the wall. He was really difficult to control. He will shout; he will force our gate to open as he wanted to go out,” she said.
To calm him down, she gave him her cellphone as he enjoys playing games.
“But I know it is not good for him the longer he holds that gadget,” Helen said.
Indeed, Saquin said gadgets somehow play a part in developmental delays.
“Most children have anxieties and the pandemic and the lockdown have amplified these anxieties,” he explained. “I’m not blaming gadgets per se but these are not helping at all in the long run.”
Private, public
EDUCATION Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones admitted that addressing the needs of children with disabilities and children with special needs is very challenging amid the pandemic.
“Very challenging because even before Covid it is already challenging, especially for children with special needs, because right now, the schools with children with special needs are run by private schools,” Briones told the BusinessMirror. “They are very expensive. That is why we are saying that we want to expand their reach.”
Briones added that they are also asking for the support of local government units (LGUs).
“You have to be able to afford a trained teacher who is trained differently; and not the usual number of classes of 25 [students] or 30 [students] because classes would have to be very small so you can pay attention to the child and his or her need,” the chief of the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
According to Briones, LGUs “are the ones looking into that [and] we hope that the public sector would play a bigger role because we don’t want to have equity challenges.”
Briones said that aside from what the DepEd calls learners with disabilities (LWDs), the government agency is also dealing with children who are victims or at risk of child abuse and bullying, children in conflict-afflicted areas, disaster-prone areas, gifted children and other learners who are at risk of learning discontinuity because of socioeconomic factors, aside from the lockdown measures.
Poorer poor
INDEED, a study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and Save the Children Federation Inc. revealed that the number of children living in multidimensional poverty increased by 15 percent to 150 million since the Covid-19 pandemic hit earlier this year.
According to the study released in September, the number of children living in deprivation in low-income and middle-income countries, has soared to approximately 1.2 billion during the pandemic.
The multidimensional poverty analysis uses data on access to education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water from more than 70 countries.
It highlights that around 45 percent of children were severely deprived of at least one of these critical needs in the countries analyzed before the pandemic.
“Covid-19 and the lockdown measures imposed to prevent its spread have pushed millions of children deeper into poverty,” Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in the report.
Fore said that families on the cusp of escaping poverty have been pulled back in, while others are experiencing “levels of deprivation they have never seen before.”
“Most concerning, we are closer to the beginning of this crisis than its end,” she said.
Although the analysis as it is already paints a dire picture, Unicef warns the situation will likely worsen in the months to come.
Over and above
THE report also noted that child poverty is much more than a monetary value.
Although measures of monetary poverty such as household income are important, they provide only a partial view of the plight of children living in poverty.
To understand the full extent of child poverty, the Unicef and Save the Children emphasized that all potential deprivations must be analyzed directly. This also points to the need to implement multi-sectoral policies addressing health, education, nutrition, water and sanitation and housing deprivations to end multidimensional poverty.
Social protection, inclusive fiscal policies, investments in social services, and employment and labor market interventions to support families are critical to lifting children out of poverty and preventing further devastation, the organizations said.
These measures also include the following: expanding access to quality health care; providing the tools and technology needed for children to continue their education remotely; and, investing in family-friendly policies such as paid leave and child care.
“This pandemic has already caused the biggest global education emergency in history, and the increase in poverty will make it very hard for the most vulnerable children and their families to make up for the loss,” Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing said in the report.
Rapid expansion
THE report also noted that not only are more children experiencing poverty than before, the poorest children are getting poorer as well.
Some children may suffer one or more deprivations and others experience none at all. Therefore, the average number of deprivations suffered per child can be used to assess how poor children are, the report said.
It noted that before the pandemic, the average number of severe deprivations per child was around 0.7. It is now estimated to have increased by 15 percent to around 0.85 percent.
“Children who lose out on education are more likely to be forced into child labor or early marriage and be trapped in a cycle of poverty for years to come,” Ashing added. “We cannot afford to let a whole generation of children become victims of this pandemic.”
She added that national governments and the international community “must step up to soften the blow.”
Fore added that “governments must prioritize the most marginalized children and their families through rapid expansion of social protection systems including cash transfers and child benefits, remote learning opportunities, healthcare services and school feeding.”
Making these “critical investments now,” she said, “can help countries to prepare for future shocks.”
Teenage pregnancy
SAVE the Children Philippines CEO Alberto T. Muyot said the prolonged community quarantine, school closures and decline in household income also exacerbate the lingering problem on teenage pregnancy in the country.
“Early pregnancy robs teenage girls of their childhood and deprives them of their right to survival, education and a future,” Muyot, who is also a lawyer, said.
“Children, especially girls, remain at the sideline of the global Covid-19 response; yet, they face the worst impact of the pandemic that threatens their lives and destroys their future.”
Prior to the pandemic, teenage pregnancy in the Philippines had already affected 5.9 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 years old. This is the second-highest rate in Southeast Asia after Laos (6.33 percent), according to the 2019 Save the Children End of Childhood report. It estimated that 300,000 girls will either give birth or have already done so.
Top cause
TEEN pregnancy has been tagged as a “national social emergency” by former National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, citing about 1.2 million adolescents having children yearly, some of them as young as 10 years old.
Save the Children Philippines Health and Nutrition Advisor Amado Parawan said early pregnancy remains the top cause of deaths among girls aged 15-19 as their bodies are not yet prepared for pregnancy and childbirth.
“Adolescents are still considered children. We cannot allow children to have children,” Parawan said. “Aside from being very dangerous, teenage mothers will be deprived [of a chance] to enjoy their childhood. Preventing early pregnancy among adolescents is protecting children’s rights.”
Save the Children Philippines also raised concern that girls are more likely to miss out on education once they are taken out of school as they face sexual exploitation and/or expected to take on the responsibility of taking care of their families.
Explaining lockdowns
DR. Salvador Benjamin D. Vista, who heads the Department of Psychiatry at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, recognizes that children and children with special needs are vulnerable populations heightened by the pandemic.
“And the needs of these vulnerable populations really have become more complicated,” said Vista, who is also an associate professor of the UP College of Medicine.
He said that parents should pay attention to their children with special needs, especially during this pandemic.
“You need now to form another definition of what their needs are now. What is happening now? You have to observe because from those observations, you can move on to making conclusions,” added Vista. “You can move on to making assumptions and you have to change your belief system.”
The process of adapting is also difficult for parents, according to Saquin, who had to close his school beginning March 15 up to May 31.
“The children can’t grasp why they have to wear a mask while parents don’t know how to teach their children about the virus,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Saquin said after calling parents of their students, he was told the children became “makulit” (importunate) by 70 percent.
“Parents need to understand that ‘kakulitan’ is a cry for attention,” he explained.
Avoid underestimation
VISTA added that the pre-pandemic belief system that parents applied in dealing with a special child “must now change.”
“It must take on a different picture. I’m sorry to say but it should be [parents] who should make observations and make those changes and transform beliefs,” he stressed.
“Pay attention: What does he or she need now? How do they react? How are they every day? Write that down,” Vista said. “And if you see them not behaving in a way like they did when Covid-19 was not here, then you have to figure it out.”
He emphasized that the virus “won’t go away soon.”
Vista added: “The only thing we need is to change these beliefs. Make conclusions regarding the new needs and move forward by changing your beliefs and changing [how] you deal with these problems.”
According to Saquin, parents need to “maximize love and manage stress.”
“They should be the frontliner for their child or children,” he told the BusinessMirror noting that parents should view the pandemic as a calamity and avoid underestimating what children feels.
“It’s difficult for both parent and child because they’re confined in their homes,” Saquin explained. “So there’s higher demand for work behavior, concentration, attention span, frustration management and impulse control.”
Constant alertness
HEALTH officials added that parents should be more vigilant during these times.
Even if we are inside the four corners of our house, we should remain vigilant on whatever danger that could lead to sickness or any tragedy, especially with the children, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said in Tagalog during an online news briefing.
Almost 50 percent of childhood injuries occur at home, with about 89 percent of those injuries being unintentional, according to data from the DOH.
DOH Children’s Health and Development Division Chief Dr. Anthony P. Calibo said parents can prevent injuries by limiting their child’s access to potentially harmful objects or areas. It is also important for parents to keep a watchful eye as they play and move around to avoid potential injuries, according to Calibo.
He explained that in the event of an emergency, parents may contact their barangay health officials who can safely escort them to the nearest emergency room. Parents with access to a private vehicle are encouraged to call the emergency room ahead of time so the medical staff can properly receive them, Calibo added.
Emergency rooms across the country have been modified with separate patient pathways for Covid-suspected patients and non-Covid-suspected patients, he explained.
Some children, especially infants, may not be able to use a face mask properly and may have difficulty breathing, Calibo said. He proposes that parents use a breastfeeding or nursing cover as an alternative.
The pediatrician also advises parents to be extra mindful and make sure they are sanitized constantly.
Handling issues
BRIONES offers an assurance that these children “are not left behind.” She pointed to the DepEd’s recently-crafted Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan as proof of this pledge.
Likewise, there is also the DepEd Order (DO) 21 or the “Policy Guidelines on the Adoption of the K-to-12 Transition Curriculum Framework for Learners with Disabilities (LWDs).” These articulate the principles, features and standards that will establish common understanding on the transition of LWDs in all public and private schools nationwide, Briones has said.
“This DepEd Order is anchored on the principles of inclusivity and equity, which considers the LWDs’ individual interests, abilities, capacities, strengths and special needs,” the order read. It said the policy puts further emphasis on what the field implementers can offer to LWDs in terms of their life pathway, in consonance with another DepEd Order (also numbered 21, or the Policy Guidelines on the K-to-12 Basic Education Program), which was issued last year.
According to the DO issued this year, these pathways “include, but [are] not limited to, higher education, entrepreneurship, employment, middle level skills development, or functional life path.”
DepEd data reveals that about 72,787 LWDs have enrolled for school year 2020 to 2021. Of the number, 2,645 are in private institutions, the DepEd said.
Educators’ training
DepEd Region III, to note, vows continuous learning for learning for children with special needs as it held training for Special Education (Sped) teachers in Central Luzon.
In a statement, the DepEd Region 3 office said some 255 teachers in Central Luzon participated in online sessions to help build the capacity of Sped teachers to handle learners with special education needs (LSENs).
“The online training aims to capacitate Sped teachers to effectively select and use learning tools that are beneficial to LSENs in finding and processing information, constructing knowledge, collaborating with peers, expressing understanding and evaluating learning effects in concrete ways; adapt learning materials to the needs of LSENs; and, provide appropriate online support for LSENs to contribute to their inclusive online experiences,” the DepEd Region III statement said.
“The training held was so timely and very relevant in our so-called ‘new normal’ situation,” the statement quoted Lea Orseno, a Sped teacher for 18 years. “The training gave us new learning and clarifications on some issues.”
As of June 22, there are already 4,388 Sped students who have enrolled in public schools offering Special Education in Region III.
Remaining hopeful
IT is also in Central Luzon that Saquin plans to transfer his school as overhead costs have weighed heavily on their operations.
He said he didn’t lay off his teachers when lockdown measures were imposed; even driving them personally from Tarlac to Caloocan, where Angel Beats began three years ago, after partially re-opening in June.
“Our employees give us a sense of pride so I didn’t want to cut them off; we just had to find other sources of income just to survive,” Saquin said.
But it was more difficult for Saquin after reading reports on social media about how children with special needs were unable to cope with the lockdown and restrictions on mobility.
Hence, he called up parents of their students and offered online coaching. Saquin also used the time to study e-learning platforms and created his own version for the school’s students.
From 160, he now has only about 60 students. But Saquin is not complaining.
“There’s always hope, especially in children.”
Stepping up
AS the “new normal” unfolds, David said that parents should step up by taking the role of teachers and therapists.
“The role of the parents is very important. We should learn to accept it and take it to our heart that, during this time, we are the facilitator in our house,” he said.
“Even if that is blended, online or face -to-face learning, we should be there for them. Let us take this opportunity to support our children. Get to know them better. We should help their teachers and therapists as well.”
He also encouraged parents and caregivers to create activities for their child.
“Involve them in household chores. This is very important for children with autism,” David said.
He said some therapy centers give advice over the phone.
David also pointed to a basic education learning continuity plan, which was proposed by SPEd teachers, therapists and disability groups.
He shared that the plan strongly recommends maintaining a small class size and to minimize the physical contact between teachers and children with disabilities or special needs. The parent or caregiver will be allowed to enter the classroom to personally teach their child while a teacher will just act like a “shadow.”
“To parents, this situation [of a lockdown and a pandemic] will teach us how to be more patient, creative,” David said. “We can do this; together, we can do this.”
Recommendations of Save the Children
- Have access to strong, resilient and equitable health and nutrition systems that continue to deliver routine services
- Have access to learning while out of school, and are able to return to school when it is safe to do so
- Have access to inclusive and resilient social protection schemes
- Ensure children are protected from violence and have access to child protection services, including gender-based violence and mental health services
- Ensure children are listened to and involved in decision-making processes, as enshrined under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child