At the end of April, Director of Program Evaluation Holly Jacobs and I presented in a roundtable discussion at the annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference. Our presentation centered on the impacts of COVID-19 for inclusive extracurricular activities such as Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools (UCS), particularly how cancellations or modifications to programming contributed to social isolation for students with intellectual disability (ID).
Historically, students with ID have been excluded from extracurricular activities, limiting their opportunities to interact with peers and build meaningful relationships. The social isolation students experienced during COVID-19 was further exasperated by the lack of these opportunities. In analyzing qualitative accounts of 443 UCS liaisons (i.e., the school staff person responsible for program implementation) from the 2020-21 school year, the CSDE team found that 20% of liaisons reported cancelling all or some UCS activities. Additionally, 43% of liaisons modified activities for virtual settings.
Despite liaisons’ resilience in their commitment to offer some form of UCS programing during the pandemic, liaisons revealed that cancellations and virtual modifications negatively impacted students and their ability to socialize with peers. One liaison stated that the loss of activities “crushed students’, both with and without disabilities, spirits.” In addition, liaisons stated that virtual options prevented meaningful friendships from forming. Another liaison reflected that to build friendships, “it is so important for students to socialize in person.” While efforts were made to provide extracurricular activities to students, the opportunities presented to form social connections were not comparable to in-person activities.
Other papers presented in our session similarly found that virtual alternatives greatly diminished students with ID’s opportunities to practice and cultivate social skills. At the roundtable, Lindströmet et al. shared how remote schooling contributed to the regression of social skills for students with ID. In addition, Hurwitz et al. found that special educators were forced to remove social goals from students’ IEPs (Individualized Education Plans), as they could not be met through virtual learning. The loss of social interactions for students with ID is troubling as feelings of social isolation are linked to a decrease in children with ID’s general well-being. Thus, it is overwhelmingly important to create avenues for students with ID to socialize with their peers and ideally, engage with one another in-person.
By Margaret Mackin, Project Coordinator at the Center for Social Development and Education