COVID-19 moves therapy for special needs children online

Reporter: Lauren Sweeney
Published: Updated:
Credit: WINK News.

Children with special needs will be getting crucial therapies in a much different way until further notice.

Focus, which offers specialized physical, behavioral and speech therapy for children, decided to shut its doors Monday amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We really can’t ensure that they’re going to be not exposed to something so we decided to go over to teletherapy which is just as beneficial as in person,” said Jen Volz, the owner of Focus.

The mother of a six-year-old with Down syndrome said it’s helping make a very abnormal time feel a little more like normal.

“It brought back some routine in his mind. He got his hands ready, he knew it was time to work,” Allison Leone said.

Leone’s son Maxwell worked with his speech therapist through an online session for an hour on Tuesday.

“It was so nice to see a familiar face,” Leone said.

Volz said medicaid other some other private insurance companies are covering teletherapy.

Others do not, so Focus is offering discounted pricing during COVID-19.

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