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![Page 5. A comic page of five panels in various shades of reddish-orange, blue, and green.
Panel 1. A portrait of Jean De Guzman Zurbano, school head of Learning Garden Montessori School, a private school in Parañaque City. She says: “With the remote set-up, the special education curriculum is hard to implement. Individualised assistance and intervention (known as individualised education plans) became difficult to execute for teachers.” A drawing of a girl sitting and reading a book. The outline of an adult is drawn in dotted lines behind her, with the acronym IEP written on it.
Panel 2. Narrator: “If all we can do is hunker down at home and wait until in-person classes resume, then home is where we’ll find the solution. The answer may lie with families.”
Panel 3. A portrait of Rickie Molinar, occupational therapist at Kids’ SPOT Learning and Therapy Centre in Parañaque City. Mr. Rickie: “There are advantages to the remote set-up. We were able to finally target goals and address problems [for neurodivergent students] occurring at their home that were not observed during face-to-face sessions. Part of the strategy to address deficiencies is making sure to keep constant communication with the parents.”
Panel 4. Ms. Jean: “Positive results both in school and children’s behaviour are best achieved with the assistance of parents providing neurodivergent students with scheduled routines.” A diagram of a calendar, surrounded by icons representing activities: breakfast, chatting, games, reading, sleep.
Panel 5: The narrator’s son with his parents, in front of a laptop. The boy is giving a thumbs up. Mr. Rickie: “Building a routine [with caregivers] would really help in providing consistent progress.”](https://newnaratif.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NewNaratif_LearninginLockdown_Page5_Web.jpg)
Notes and Terms
For communities and advocates, a more person-centred term is preferred, but for the Philippines education sector, ‘special education’ is the term currently being used. However, following passage of the Law for Inclusive Education in March, there may soon be a change in terminologies. The law mandates that Special Education Centres become Inclusive Learning Resource Centres, for example.
kuya: older brother
neurodivergent: people whose brains function differently from what is considered normal or standard, such as people living with autism or ADHD
neurotypical: person with no developmental issues
self-regulation: when a person can manage their emotions on their own and keep inappropriate behaviour in check
sound sensitivities: aversion to loud or sudden noises
Schools in the Philippines are classified as either public or private. Public schools are government-funded and are free to attend, while private schools are privately owned and enrollees pay tuition.
Some interview dialogues have been edited for length and clarity.
References
“OPEN Talk 11: Remote Learning Para Sa SPED at Katutubo, Paano Nga Ba?” University of the Philippines Open University, 30 July 2021.
Rotas and Cahapay, “Difficulties in Remote Learning: Voices of Philippine University Students in the Wake of COVID-19 Crisis.” Asian Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2020.
Page 3, panel 1 is based on the experiences of a 6-year-old student in Bohol province who has to walk 600 metres from his house to a hilltop to get decent mobile internet signals.
Page 4, panel 2 shows a group of schoolchildren helping each other answer printed modules provided by the Department of Education.
Resources
For families in the Philippines seeking help, below is a list of developmental paediatric institutions that offer free consultations.
- OMMC Pediatrics – Pedia Ko Health & Wellness
- PGH Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
- Philippine Children’s Medical Center
Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics Section
*Consultations are free provided patient has a guarantee letter from social services or their local government unit. +632-8588-9900 loc. 325, 307.
