Impact of Covid-19 on families with children with special educational needs

Leto 2020 je bilo leto, ko so učenje, izobraževanje, služba in življenje na splošno začeli potekati povsem drugače. Marca 2020 je v Slovenijo prišel prvi val virusa covid-19. Z namenom zaščite ljudi je država Slovenija ustavila javno življenje in ustanove, ki jih med drugim obiskujejo otroci z intelektualnimi ovirami (izobražujejo se v prilagojenih programih, v specializiranih ustanovah, kjer je na enem mestu poskrbljeno tudi za potrebno zdravstveno nego in vse medicinsko rehabilitacijske programe), izobraževalne ustanove in centre za socialno delo. S tem so ljudem preprečili fizične stike podpore in pomoči. Oktobra 2020 pa so ponovno sprejeli ukrepe in ustavili javno življenje. Prekinitev ustaljenega načina življenja vsem ljudem predstavlja izzive in stiske. Tu je tudi skupina oseb, in sicer otroci z intelektualnimi ovirami, ki velikokrat ostanejo spregledani. Otroci z intelektualnimi ovirami so v prvi vrsti otroci, ki pa so v svojem življenju postavljeni pred številne izzive. Zato tu potrebujejo podporo in pomoč, ki jim jo v večini primerov v največjem obsegu nudi družina. Za dobro počutje in funkcioniranje družine sta potrebna dober medsebojni odnos in dobro sodelovanje s strokovnjaki. Starši v večji meri sodelujejo s socialnimi in svetovalnimi delavkami z namenom podpore in pomoči otroku. Otrokom s posebnimi potrebami velikokrat ravno v izobraževalnih ustanovah uspe zadovoljiti določene potrebe, ki jih ne zmorejo v krogu družine. Ena izmed borb socialnega modela je narediti konec institucionalnim življenju in odvisnosti otrok, oseb z intelektualnimi ovirami. Z zaprtjem države in omejevanjem ljudi so bili ljudje z intelektualnimi ovirami, ljudje, ki potrebujejo osebno asistenco, zelo prikrajšani, normalno življenje jim je bilo onemogočeno. Z raziskavo sem ugotovila, da je virus covid-19 na vsako družino vplival drugače. Začetna soočenja z ukrepi zaradi virusa so bila negativna, potrebnih je bilo veliko prilagajanj na dano situacijo. Nekatere družine so se soočale z večjim številom konfliktov kot drugače, druge pa so se bolj povezale. Za ohranjanje dobre dinamike v družini je bilo pomembno, da so družine imele podporo in pomoč. Glaven vir le tega so za starše v zakonski ali izven zakonski zvezi predstavljal partner in otroci. Starši samohranilci pa so kot glaven vir podpore navedli svoje starše. Starši so pri svojih otrocih z intelektualno oviro opazili negativen vpliv virusa covid-19 in ukrepov zaradi njega. Vse spremembe so otrokom predstavljale stres, kar se je poznalo na sodelovanju z družino in šolo, ter napredku pri fizični in psihični kondiciji. Starši nad ukrepom države – šola na daljavo, niso bili navdušeni, so bili pa presenečeni nad kakovostjo in predanostjo učiteljev. Kljub večinsko dobrem sodelovanju z učitelji pa daljavo so tako starši kot njihovi otroci vračanje pouka v šole sprejeli z navdušenem. Strah pred okužbo z virusom je bil minimalen. Velik problem zaznan v moji raziskave je bil ta, da imajo starši zelo malo izkušenj sodelovanja s socialnimi delavkami, tako na samih šolah kot na centrih za socialno delo. To nam pove, da starši zaznajo majhno vključenost socialnih delavk, hkrati pa sami starši apelirajo na večjo vključenost socialnih delavk v družbo.The year 2020 was the year when learning, education, work and life in general took an entirely different turn. The first wave of COVID-19 came to Slovenia in March 2020. To protect the people, the government of Slovenia shut down all public life and institutions, including those attended by children with special educational needs (they receive education at special institutions that also provide the required nursing services and all medical rehabilitation programmes), educational institutions and social work centres. By doing so, it prevented people from receiving support and help in person. In October 2020 the measures were readopted, shutting down public life. Suspending the usual way of life creates challenges and distress for all people. Then there is a group of people, namely children with special educational needs, that is often overlooked. Children with SEN are above all children, but ones who are facing many challenges in their lives. That is why they need support and help, which they mostly receive from their families. It takes a good interpersonal relationship and good cooperation with experts for the family to feel good and function well. Parents mostly cooperate with social workers and counsellors to provide support and help to their child. Children with special educational needs are often able to satisfy certain needs in educational institutions, which they are unable to satisfy within the family. One aspiration of the social model is to put an end to the institutional life and dependence of children, persons with disorders. When the country was locked down and restrictions were imposed on the people, it greatly deprived persons with disorders, persons in needs of personal assistancethey were prevented from leading normal lives. Through research, I found that the covid-19 virus affected each family differently. Initial confrontations with the virus were negative, and many adjustments were needed to the situation. Some families faced more conflict than others, while others became more connected. In order to maintain good dynamics in the family, it was important that the families had the support and help. The main source of this for parents in marriage or out of wedlock was the partner and children. Single parents, however, cited their parents as the main source of support. Parents have observed a negative impact of covid-19 virus and measures on their children with intellectual disabilities. All the changes were stressful for the children, which was evident in the cooperation with the family and the school, as well as the progress in physical and mental condition. Parents were not enthusiastic about the action of the state - distance school, but they with teachers, both parents and their children enthusiastically accepted the return of lessons to schools. The fear of being infected with the virus was minimal. A big problem perceived in my research was that parents have very little experience of working with social workers, both in the schools themselves and in the social work centers. This tells us that parents perceive low involvement of social workers, and at the same time the parents themselves appeal to greater involvement of social workers in society