Pandemic hard on Stark DD students forced to adjust vital routines

Ty Kuntzman, a 16-year-old from Alliance with a developmental delay, didn't respond well to the significant changes in his routine brought on by COVID-19.

Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities shut down its Rebecca Stallman Southgate and Eastgate Early Childhood and Family Center schools in March in response to the state's stay-at-home orders.

"He doesn't understand what's happening. Why he's not going to (Southgate) school. Why he can't see his friends and teachers," said his mother Melvina Kuntzman. "It really was a nightmare. Ty, his routine gets changed, he gets aggressive. He'll start scratching and hitting at you, like 'What's going on?'"

Kuntzman said after the schools were closed, her son got ready for school only to become frustrated and pounding things when told he wouldn't be going. Because he was unable to speak, he would growl.

Ty's teacher, in addition to sending lesson packets to students every other week, regularly called Kuntzman to offer ideas to help calm her son.

They tried setting up a video conference call where Ty's teacher sought to work through a video connection. But it agitated Ty that he could see his teacher without being physically present in the same room.

Finally, the teacher suggested Kuntzman use a method to foster communication where Ty could select pieces of paper with pictures and words written on them. And to establish a routine where if he put together a certain number of sentences he could enjoy a 10-minute break. It helped, Kuntzman said, but with summer "he started regressing. ... the anger issues got worse."

Stark DD, like many other institutions, has scrambled to adjust how it provides services to protect its roughly 3,859 clients and nearly 400 employees from COVID.

"We were in crisis mode, there's no doubt about that," said Stark DD's superintendent, Bill Green.

Scrambling to adjust

Teachers have had to learn how to remotely teach and check in with families of students at least once a week. Stark DD has provided 125 Chromebook computers to Southgate students with internet access.

Bus drivers and riders who transported students now transport three times a week federally-funded meals to 170 students at their homes, equipment, learning packets and diapers and other feeding supplies. Stark DD staff is helping out local health departments by performing contact tracing for clients or employees who test positive. Stark DD nurses are charged with assessing whether students and staff in quarantine can return to work or school with final approval of the release by the local health department.

Green said Stark DD has not had to furlough or lay off any employees.

And with the arrival of December amid the rising number of COVID cases, Stark DD had to respond to another significant challenge. Twenty-nine of 160 Southgate and Eastgate school employees were in quarantine due to possible exposures to COVID outside the schools. At least two had tested positive. Stark DD again shut down its schools earlier this month.

"I literally cried. It just was going to be a repeat of what was going to happen in March," said Kuntzman, president of the Southgate parents' association. "The last couple of days (Ty's) been trying to figure out why he's not at school. ... His routine is off again."

Deaths

Green said many Stark DD clients have underlying health conditions on top of their intellectual disabilities.

As of earlier this month, about 64 had tested positive for the coronavirus. That was comprised of three in nursing facilities, 21 who live in intermediate care facilities, 37 living in homes supported by providers' staff and three students who live together.

Of those 64, seven, all adults from ages 38 to 78, died.

Green said there's been no indication anyone has contracted COVID at a Stark DD facility. About six staff members have tested positive, but apparently were infected outside the scope of their work.

"There's no evidence of community spread within a class or within a school," said Green, who added that Stark DD's policy is that any employee who tests positive even if not exhibiting Covid symptoms must go into quarantine.

Re-opening schools

Like local school districts, Stark DD faced the decision of whether to open in August or go to entirely remote learning. In the end, the agency opened on a limited basis on Aug. 20 and left the decision to parents whether to send their children or have them do remote learning. Families could switch at any time.

As of Dec. 1, 69 Southgate children were going to the school in Canton Township five days every two weeks supplemented with remote learning while the families of 28 chose the remote-only option.

"We made an effort to start schools this year as we had families that did not have access to good computers and technologies," said Green. “We do believe that the best place for students is in the classroom especially for those that have significant disabilities and they do learn best with hands-on learning.

However, Stark DD cut capacity in Southgate by half with limits of six per class. Southgate has about 97 children ages 5 to 22, and Eastgate in Louisville has about 67 preschoolers.

Students at Southgate were separated into two teams. One would go to school for two days of the week, staff would sanitize surfaces on Wednesday and the other team would go the remaining two days of the week. The team not in school would do remote learning or parents would teach their children using packets sent home.

The 67 preschoolers could attend Eastgate in person four days a week with smaller class sizes of nine per class.

Kuntzman said she opted to send Ty back to school.

"Because I knew he needed, how bad he needed to have that routine and his teachers," she said. "I know they would take every precaution to prevent him being around someone sick. ... when that bus pulled up to pick him up, he had the biggest smile on his face."

Southgate Principal Myrna Blosser, who retires this month after 15 years as principal, said school staff had to be very attentive to any kids who might be ill as many of them are not verbal.

"The biggest thing is they can't communicate they're not feeling good," she said.

Around late October, Stark DD administrators felt the arrangement was working well and that schools could be cleaned in the evening. They changed the schedule. One team would attend school three days one week and then two days the next week, with the other team attending on the other days.

Multiple plans

These are other policies Stark DD has implemented:

Staff is required to wear masks; students are encouraged to but not required to because they may be resistant (or unable) to wear masks. Established an emergency response team to ensure clients being served by independent providers without families had their needs met. Accelerated plans to provide telehealth sessions via video conferencing to 319 families in the early intervention program with children up to age 3 with developmental disabilities. In these video sessions, therapists advise parents how to help infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Stark DD staff have visited homes to provide computers or other technology and fit wheelchairs. In some cases, they might help a student through their lesson in their home but with social distancing. In-home visits were halted Dec. 4 with the rising number of COVID cases in Stark County. Acquired and distributed N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, COVID test kits and oximeters for independent providers for adult clients.

Overall, Green said Stark DD has been reimbursed by about $110,000 from federal CARES Act funding. The agency has spent the money on personal protective equipment, overtime costs for staff who went into families' homes and acquiring computer and equipment in remote learning.

Despite the recent school closure, Green said he hopes to reopen the schools in mid-January and return to school five days a week by late spring.

Hope ahead

Fran Miller of Jackson Township said her 34-year-old son, Michael, a Stark DD client who has a cognitive disability, had to adjust to not having his day program at First Christian Church with his friends about twice a week for more than six weeks in the spring.

But he kept his job as a cleaner for The Workshops Inc., and he was the only member of the family to consistently work during the pandemic. Miller, a dentist, was furloughed for two months and her three other children were laid off.

"He never complains about going to work," she said.

Reach Repository writer Robert Wang at (330) 580-8327 and robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pandemic hard on Stark DD students forced to adjust vital routines

___

(c)2020 The Repository, Canton, Ohio

Visit The Repository, Canton, Ohio at www.cantonrep.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.