The coronavirus pandemic has proven to be a difficult and complicated time for everyone, including students. With school closures across the country, many children and families are experiencing particularly challenging circumstances.

The development has since seen educators transition to working remotely and finding resources to support e-learning, in order to help students cope with studying from home.

However, in the rush to support students and maintain connections with them academically and emotionally, experts say that students with disabilities are particularly vulnerable.

Ngabo (second name withheld) is used to spending his whole day with his classmates, says the mother. The 15-year-old lives with an autism spectrum disorder and is currently in the sixth level of special needs education.

Coronavirus lockdown is proving to be a particularly trying ordeal for children with disabilities and their families. Net photo.

While at school, she narrates, the class is hands-on. "They sing, they play, they practice communicating with body language, and they interact with each other,” adding, "coronavirus has put a stop to all of that.”

The mother of three who resides in Kabeza, Kicukiro District points out that Ngabo is her only autistic child, but "instructing him at home is an impossible task.”

"During the day, he normally goes out to play in the field, or just sticks to my iPad for games. Sometimes he is stubborn enough to also leave home and only comes back because he fears the police,” she says. 

So Bamutesi, (Ngabo’s mother) is trying to learn online how to teach her own son, so that she can help him benefit during the lockdown.

"But parents aren’t teachers. We also have our own jobs to worry about, sometimes you are even unemployed, but you don’t know the best practises for your child. Most of the time, I am taking care of the rest who are younger, and I leave him to figure it out alone. Sometimes I think I will attend to him later, but I forget.”

However, like most parents, Bamutesi says she understands. "It’s hard on everyone, especially parents like me who need to be there for the children without their father.”

For students with special needs, says Mary Kobusingye, a specialist at the Ministry of Education, the coronavirus pandemic and its linked school closures can be especially scary.

At school, they get individualised attention from professionals who are trained and deeply familiar with their unique ways of thinking, perceiving, and processing, she says.

These students have all kinds of problems, but in particular, their education is highly affected, making them more vulnerable.

For instance, she highlights, "For visually impaired students, they can use recorders and revise but since it (lockdown) was not intended, they are left with nothing to use.”

Additionally, Kobusingye is of the view that the pandemic has by far set a communication barrier between teachers and students.

"They need interaction from teachers mainly, they need feedback but they don’t get this.”

On the other hand, she also believes that such students need more time to digest the kind of work they are taught.

"They need extra time to digest the concept. The lessons given online and on radio are 40 minutes but these kids need more time. We are not giving them enough time, they need to ask teachers, which they don’t, and this will affect their performance.”

For many special-needs students, the tools that other children are using to make remote education possible like online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, printed work packets, just aren’t handy. 

Students with disabilities often use assistive technology; for instance, a student with visual impairment might use screen-reader software to have text read aloud, or a braille reader to read the text themselves. But a lot of online platforms aren’t compatible with assistive technology—and even when they are, other problems frequently arise.

However, they have not been forgotten, Kobusingye says. "There is a project underway that seeks to help these students.”

Irénée Ndayambaje, Director-General at Rwanda Education Board (REB), says they have put different measures for students at home.

For instance, a number of free online platforms have been established to facilitate these students, "Now we’re asking parents to step into all of these roles.”

The very nature of neurological and learning differences means that many special-needs students find change and inconsistency particularly stressful; it’s harder for them to be flexible, to go with the flow. 

But that also means that this time of social distancing could be a particularly good learning experience for them. "They’re learning a lot about the world,” Cherish Nkurunziza, a nursery teacher says. "This is what helps them grow.”

Even though it is not clear when schools will resume, experts predict a major backslide in learning.