Giving Compass' Take:

•Lizbeth A. Dison, writing for Charity Navigator, explains the significant challenges for children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Are there opportunities in your community to support children with disabilities during this time? 

• Learn how school closures impact students with disabilities. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our youth’s daily lives, but the effects are especially acute for over 7 million U.S. children living with disabilities. While all children have had to cope with the isolation from their friends (and forced sheltering in place with their family members), adapting to online learning, and missing major milestones like prom and graduation, COVID-19 brings more than an inconvenience to physically-challenged children (and their caregivers) – it may actually threaten their safety and well-being.

One of FODAC’s pediatric clients is a 15-year-old boy confined to a wheelchair and deaf after surviving meningitis at the age of four. With a new powerchair he recently received from FODAC, Raynell is much more mobile and socially engaged and was even going to a special school combining educational learning with speech and physical therapy. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, and Georgia’s governor closed all the state’s schools, from preschool to college. While able-bodied students reluctantly moved to online learning and homeschooling to finish out the school year, Raynell’s need for special education could not be addressed at home.

No one knows what the long-term impact on the “COVID-19” generation will be, especially for children with disabilities. The pandemic has caused a rethinking and reevaluation of what was considered “normal” processes, with a necessary flexibility as we quickly changed behaviors both in business and in our personal lives. Perhaps a result of this time will be a reevaluation of how we treat those with disabilities, both in regular life and in crisis. There should be different considerations for adults and children with disabilities; rules and regulations meant for the physically-abled need to accommodate all people of every ability.

Read the full article about COVID-19 and people with disabilities by Lizbeth A. Dison at Charity Navigator.