Covid restrictions in Australia have resulted in students with disabilities having to find new schools where their needs are catered for.
In a report compiled by ABC Australia, mothers of a students with disabilities narrated how hard it has been to get help for their children since the pandemic started. Australia, which recorded its first case In January last year, and has seen a total of 909 fatalities from the virus and over 28000 cases, has implemented restrictions throughout the period, with schools being some of the hardest-hit institutions.
Students with disabilities moving out of state
Elizabeth Ellis, a mother of a 9-year-old son with disabilities, has since moved from Victoria to Brisbane in search of better learning resources for her son. She admitted to ABC Australia that she could not get a school that could accommodate her son.
Ellis indicated that her son had speech apraxia and multiple specialists had recommended that he be offered Auslan. She indicated that her son had used Auslan for the last 10 years and needed schools that could help him continue his learning using Auslan.
However, Ellis indicated that her local schools indicated that they could not offer him Auslan learning because he was not deaf. This meant that he was ineligible to enroll in Victorian schools that could handle his disability.
Ellis reluctantly left her home in Victoria, leaving behind her husband and another two older children, in search of better quality education for her son out of the state.
Ellis’s case is not an isolated case, and another parent who was also interviewed, Lisa Denny, also indicated that she was in the process of packing up and leaving her home state to Brisbane with her 11-year-old son who also had language disorder.
Denny’s move from Tasmania to Brisbane also meant that she would be leaving behind her family and children to support her disabled child.https://www.youtube.com/c/IlRifugioPerfetto/videos The cases of interstate movements have been on the rise as parents start to look for schools that can accommodate their children with ease. The Australian government has also promised to do more to ensure that they protect students with disabilities going back to schools after months of restrictions.
