The Young family has had to adapt to life at home during the
coronavirus pandemic. Courtesy of Chrissy Young
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 22-MAY 28, 2020 17
BY BEN VERDE
Children and adults with
developmental disabilities
have found their routines
thrown off dramatically by the
coronavirus pandemic, leaving
those who care for them
struggling to fill the gaps in
their days at home.
For Suffolk County motherof
three Chrissy Young, New
York’s stay-at-home order has
meant the end of the predictability
that her sons Nicholas
and Michael, who both have
level-three Autism, rely on.
“You and I can say ‘Oh, we’ll
go with the flow,’” said Young.
“But when you’re dealing with
people with disabilities, that’s
not in their playbook.”
Nicholas and Michael, 10,
and 8 respectively, now center
their days around Zoom
calls with their school — the
Elija School in Levittown.
While having something
structured to anchor them
has been a lifesaver, Young
said, human contact from
teachers and classmates has
been impossible to replicate.
“Nothing is like seeing people,
and holding people, and
hugging people,” Young said.
“But we’re doing the best we
can.”
Compounding the issue,
her sons have had to go without
seeing the people they
formed connections with at
school — and with little to no
explanation.
“One day they saw them
and one day they didn’t,”
Young said. “I cannot imagine,
for my boys, what that was
like.”
Young resists the idea that
her sons are getting “used to”
the new normal, but admits
that there is far less trepidation
now than when their
routine was first interrupted
roughly six weeks ago. “If
they were able to walk back
into that school they, would be
doing cartwheels,” she said.
“But I think the fear is less.
The more you do the same
thing, there’s a little less fear.”
To keep her kids — who are
both non-verbal — occupied
without having anywhere to
go, Young and her husband
have taken them on drives
through Suffolk County, and
opened up their backyard pool
for them to play in after remote
learning, but there’s only
so much they can do while
hunkered down.
“My husband and I have
learned we’re really not that
exciting,” she said.
Young attributes what success
her sons have had during
the pandemic to the Elija
School, which has not only
given students structure during
the weekdays, but has also
provided parents with training.
“If my boys were not in
Elija, I don’t know what this
would look like,” she said.
While Michael and Nicholas
have virtual learning to
anchor their days, structure
has been harder to maintain
for adults with developmental
disabilities who are not in a
school program, according to
Lynne Koufakis, who chairs
the board of Life’s Worc, a network
of group homes in New
York City and Long Island.
Organizations like Life’s
Worc have found themselves
on the front lines of the COVID-
19 pandemic but for Koufakis,
who has two sons at home with
developmental disabilities, the
obstacle is twofold.
“It’s extremely challenging,”
she said. “It’s frustrating.
It’s mentally and physically
exhausting.”
Many parents have had to
rely on technology to help get
them through these uncertain
— and unstructured — times.
“The computer is great, and a
curse at the same time,” said
Koufakis, whose children’s
caretakers still take them out
for exercise most days, but who
are stuck spending the rest of
their time inside in front of a
screen. “They get addicted.”
While sheltering in place
has not been easy for everyone,
Young acknowledges that
those with developmental disabilities
are going through a
completely different trial of
their own.
“I cannot imagine — disabled
people who cannot relay
or express the fear that they
have, the emotion that they
have,” she said.
New Yorkers with developmental
disabilities adapt to life at home
Respect.
Tradition.
Compassion.
For four generations, New York’s Jewish
Community has turned to Sinai Chapels for
guidance and comfort in their time of need.
We honor and respect all Jewish traditions
and customs, attending to every funeral detail
according to each family’s personal and
religious preferences.
To learn more, contact us today:
718.445.0300 | 800.446.0406
/QNS.COM
