Due to its low defenses and low level of adaptability, the pandemic has people with Down syndrome cornered; in Huila many have deserted virtual learning processes due to the exhaustion of their families, for whom the pandemic has become chaotic.
Nicolás Montes Gómez’s routine changed drastically a few days after the covid-19 pandemic, and although the reactivation of all economic sectors at this point is a fact, the reality for people with Down syndrome or another intellectual disability continues to be bleak compared to the rest of society. Before the pandemic, the 20-year-old attended the Utrahuilca Cooperative School every day from 7:00 a.m. at 12:00 p.m.; On Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, he went to the Down Syndrome Foundation; and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays he had swimming lessons, according to his mother, Bitelma Gómez Zuluaga.
His reality has been transformed and his activities are now too limited. Lately he has been worried about when he will be able to go back to school, go to the pool, attend the foundation or ride a bicycle: his patience seems to be wearing thin. “I tell him that we have to wait until this virus is gone, so we can get out. These days we have already seen him more stressed, ”says his mother.
Luz Ángela Rojas, a psychiatrist at the Huila Down Syndrome Foundation, also experienced a similar situation with her sister, who at the beginning of her quarantine seemed to adjust very well to the change, but later began to suffer episodes of bad mood and depression, when she was not he could comply with his daily activity schedules. “She was more irritable, when normally she is not like that, and it happened then that she had sleep problems, insomnia and cried,” said Rojas.
Nicolás is one of the thousands of people in Huila who, despite their cognitive limitations, have received or are receiving education. Only in Neiva, 1,111 students with Special Educational Needs are being served in 13 Educational Institutions. And it is estimated that the same number attends private schools; But now, whatever the case, they will have to stay at home, without visiting parks or common places, and this is extremely complex for the person and their loved ones. “It makes the family feel overwhelmed not only by the isolation of themselves, but also by the person with disabilities who live,” said Rojas.
This is precisely another aspect that deserves great demand, in addition to complying with teleworking, parents must accompany the virtual teaching processes that can be chaotic, according to Bitelma Gómez.
