Visakhapatnam: Being housebound, special children need more attention

Visakhapatnam: When imparting social distancing discipline to normal persons is considered a difficult task, imagine how tough it would be for training people with special needs.

The extension of lockdown for third consecutive time has an impact on the way we lead our lives. Following lockdown restrictions and adapting to a new culture is not an easy task for a majority of people.

Parents, caretakers and NGO representatives find it more challenging to handle mentally-challenged children, especially in times of lockdown as being housebound for over a month-and-a-half turns out to be a daunting exercise that needs special focus for persons with special needs.

Nudging them to follow a routine itself is a horrendous task for parents and caretakers as it requires tremendous effort. In times of ongoing lockdown imposed to contain the pandemic, the effort has increased manifold.

Making them wash their hands as frequent as possible, guarding them against keeping their hands off their eyes, nose and lips, which they are otherwise used to, wearing masks and following hygiene measures on a day-to-day basis happen to be a difficult exercise for caretakers.

P Sarangadharudu, who runs a home Care and Love in Madhavadhara for mentally-challenged kids, says, "As part of precautionary measure, no outsider is being allowed into the home where 15 children are residing at present. In order to pay individual attention to kids, some of them have been sent to their relatives' place. Keeping the growing number of coronavirus infection in view, extra care has been taken in terms of giving bath to children all aged between six and twelve, maintaining the surroundings clean and washing the vegetables thoroughly."

Since ayahs have been asked not to come till the lockdown concludes, homes taking care of special children are struggling further as caretakers' work has been doubled.

While homes and NGOs take extra precautionary measures to contain the spread of virus, parents too find it hard to cope with the current situation. "It is difficult to control my autistic son from roaming around the house. When I place a mask, he deliberately pushes it aside. Handling a special child is like handling a month-old baby. They need more attention all the time," says R Sita Lakshmi, a mother of an autistic child.

Experts warn against the possibility of children's routine going out of gear, they suggest sticking to a structured routine despite being housebound.