Mother of young man with autism talks about the need for in-person classes to restore routine
FOX 2 - The pandemic is hitting many people hard, but perhaps it has been even tougher for people like Aiden Harmon, who has autism.
The 20-year-old was attending West Bloomfield Transitional Center when COVID-19 struck.
Mother of young man with autism talks about need for routine with school in fall
Cindy plans on sending Aidan back to school this fall. Of course she says she fears the risk of the virus, but has confidence the school is taking proper safety precautions from temperature checks to social distancing and cleaning.
"Do you want to go back?"
"Yes," Aidan said.
"He does want to go back he misses everybody a lot," said his mother, Cindy Harmon. "Routine is huge for Aidan. They were right in the middle of working in the community and building skills, learning skills. He does it at home, but for him at school part of the day and then to be out in the community, that's big for him."
Cindy plans on sending Aidan back to school this fall. Of course, she says she fears the risk of the virus but has confidence the school is taking proper safety precautions from temperature checks to social distancing and cleaning.
"He needs to go back, he loves it, he enjoys it, he needs socialization," she said. "I have confidence in what the plan is."
"I think it's important - students like Aidan, students with autism, when in school they have tremendous support and he is learning during everything he is doing," said David Wisniewski.
Wisniewski is one of Aidan's teachers at the West Bloomfield Transitional Center which focuses on teaching young adults skills to help them lead independent, productive adult lives.
He says students will continue to learn life skills inside the classroom like finances, laundry, and dishes. They will be able to also enjoy art and music therapy.
But the skills they gain on the job or volunteering in the community will have to be on hold, for now. Still, he says for most, a better option than staying home.
"For some students, they did fine, for other students it was too abstract," he said. "I had some students who couldn't sit 10 seconds in front of a computer screen - it left a lot of work for the parent to develop or follow the assignment we were providing."
The plan is to have six students per classroom, socially distanced, taking temperatures and they even bought new furniture that is easier to keep clean.