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COVID-19 Impacts Children with Disabilities Child with cerbal palsy deals with COVID-19

Children are forced to use telecommunication therapy

By Morgan Alexander

Morgan Alexander:
Maddy Hertweck is a six year old from Liverpool who has been diagnosed with cerebal palsy. This condition effects her cognitive abilities and mobility. Going to school everyday allows her to receive the proper care needed to help battle this condition.

Erin Hertweck:
“Strengthening you know learning new skills like using scissors trying to learn how to walk and crawl its essential its really how kids learn grown and learn how to function everyday.”

Alexander:
COVID-19 forced schools to go online leaving Maddy to do at home therapy with her mom Erin. Erin says that although she has loved having Maddy home every day trying to get her six year old to listen to her and do her therapy has been a struggle.

Hertweck:
“at school its so much more beneficial because i’m not a therapist i’m not a teacher so she would not be getting you know she doesn’t get the same service at home.”

STANDUP: Alexander

Maddy has found a way to do her therapy through online telecommunication where the therapist with skype in and show Erin all the different exercises to do. The only problem is that they don’t have all the equipment that she would be getting to use if she were at school. Erin says one of her favorite exercise to do with maddy is called the dead bug.

Alexander:
in addition to physical therapy maddy does speech,occupational and vision therapy multiple times a week. A busy schedule for a mother of three but doing this at home has created an even closer bond between maddy and her mother.

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) — Erin Hertweck is the mother of six-year-old Maddy Hertweck who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Maddy attended Liverpool Elementary School where she receives therapy to help with her growth.

Being a part of school is something that is essential to Maddy, because she learns how to read, listen , and learns mobility exercises. When Erin Hertweck found out about COVID-19 closing down schools she was devastated.

“I was really upset and cried quiet a lot because I know how much it helped Maddy as she’s very social and learns very well at school so it was super hard on us to know she wouldn’t be getting these services the same way,” said Hertweck.

Maddy uses telecommunication in order to complete the exercises each week at home, but Erin Hertweck feels that it is just not the same as it would be as if she was with the teachers.

“At school its so much more beneficial because I’m not a therapist I’m not a teacher so she would not be getting you know she doesn’t get the same service at home,” said Hertweck.

Unfortunately  due to COVID-19, Erin Hertweck feels that they will not be  able to have in-person therapy until the fall when Maddy is in first grade. Until then they will be using telecommunications all summer to help strengthen Maddy’s cognitive abilities.

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