Tailoring remote special education for children with down syndrome during COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines

Abstract

Down syndrome is the most common form of intellectual disability. However, there is a paucity of educational research focused on this vulnerable segment of learners especially in the present novel situation. This paper aimed to explore how teachers tailor remote special education for children with down syndrome amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. It draws from a phenomenological qualitative study that collected information from online interviews with nine special education teachers handling children with down syndrome. The results revealed five themes: (1) contextualize individual educational plans; (2) meet sensory and movement needs; (3) emotionally connect with children; (4) communicate often with families; and (5) collaborate with community. This study provides practical insight into the enabling practices that teachers use to design the remote special education for children with down syndrome amid the current crisis.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a monumental disruption of education systems all over the world. The International Association of Universities (2020) reported at the onset of the pandemic that more than a billion students across the globe were affected by the pandemic. The inevitable closure of educational institutions and other learning spaces has brought extensive transformations in all aspects of education. Even with the anticipated reopening of educational institutions, social distancing measures and restrictive movement policies would continue to reshape teaching and learning (Bartlett et al. 2020) in many unimaginable ways.

With the continuing crisis, extant challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) have also been magnified (Fegert et al. 2020). Within this vulnerable segment, children with down syndrome even face a more challenging situation (Courtenay 2020). The present COVID-19 infection is specifically devastating for individuals with down syndrome who typically exhibit a higher prevalence of respiratory tract infections, immune system irregularities, and potentially serious complications (Illouz et al. 2021). Thus, if these children should be educated in the ideal least restrictive social environment, additional care and support should be placed (Simons 2021).

Different individuals and advocacy groups have called for the inclusion of children with down syndrome in the movement to promote the wellness of people during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Cahapay (2021a) noted that initiatives such as adaptive learning methods through remote special education to ensure the wellness of children with special educational needs and disabilities in general are still to be fully realized. They are nevertheless expected to trickle down more efforts toward the development and attainment of relevant, appropriate, and responsive programs toward a new normal that is inclusive for all people regardless of abilities.

Most scholarly works on children and adults with down syndrome during the current novel global crisis focused on their physiological susceptibility to COVID-19 (e.g. see del Carmen Ortega et al. 2020, Hendrix et al. 2021, Kantar et al. 2020, Hüls et al. 2021, Illouz et al. 2021, Malle et al. 2021, Stefanuto et al. 2021). It is not surprising as down syndrome is associated with immune dysfunction, congenital heart disease, and pulmonary pathology, which make it a risk factor for severe COVID-19 (Clift et al. 2021). While the down syndrome is the most common form of intellectual disability (Ostermaier 2021) and the education of children with down syndrome needs urgent action in this emergency period, it is observed that there is a scarcity of educational research focused on them.

Furthermore, within the current educational research, the attention has largely been on the difficulties in learning and impact of the novel crisis on children with SENDs in general (e.g. see Schuck and Lambert 2020, Trzcińska-Król 2020, Averett 2021, Couper-Kenney and Riddell 2021, Nasir and Hameed 2021, Shaw and Shaw 2021, Yazcayir and Gurgur 2021). Reviewing the body of research concerning particular SENDs, most studies touched on home education of children with autism (e.g. see Cahapay 2020, Daulay 2021, Fadare et al. 2021). Only one study assessed how children with down syndrome were affected by an emergency remote education program (Çelik et al. 2022).

Looking further into the above studies, the perspective has noticeably always been devoted to the experience of the parents. It is vital to draw consideration that the case also requires looking into a concerted perspective from the experience of the teachers. UNESCO (2020) stressed the critical role that teachers play in this difficult time when they are not properly equipped on remote learning solutions and are constrained to fulfilling soft elements of teaching such as social rules and empathy. Thus, moving the lens of looking into theeducation of a particular segment of learners , this research raises the need to specifically inquire into how the teachers tailor remote special education for the children with down syndrome. It will provide practical knowledge as regards the enabling practices that teachers employ to teach these children amid the present situation.

Given the novelty of the current condition that the teachers are confronted with, it is crucial to understand their lived experiences. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore how teachers tailor remote special to meet the needs of children with down syndrome in the changed educational situation restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it sought to answer the following central question:

1. What practices did the teachers employ to tailor remote special education for children with down syndrome amid the COVID-19 crisis?

Methods

The following methods are employed to achieve the stated purpose of this study. The research design, sampling technique, research tool, data collection, and data analysis are presented and discussed.

Design

A phenomenological approach to qualitative research was employed in this study. Creswell (2007) defined phenomenology as a qualitative research approach that allows for an exhaustive manner of inquiring into how the participants experience the phenomenon through the lens of lived experience. It intends to describe the lived experience from the perspective of individuals who have encountered the phenomenon (Smith 2007). A phenomenological approach does not discover causes; its purpose is to describe the phenomenon from the lived experience of individuals about a phenomenon (Penner and McClement 2008). Thus, aligned with this purpose, the phenomenological approach is considered an appropriate research design to address the interest of this research that revolves around the phenomenon of how teachers tailor remote special education to address the needs of children with down syndrome amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting

This study was conducted in four government elementary schools in two cities in Mindanao, Philippines. These schools offer special education programs ranging from early intervention to middle intervention. As special education centers, these schools are mandated to (1) conduct continuous assessment of children with special needs, (2) provide training to stakeholders involved in inclusive education, (3) develop appropriate teaching and learning materials, and (4) provide support to children with special needs included in the regular classrooms.

Sampling

A criterion sampling strategy was employed to select the participants of this study. It is a sampling strategy in which the participants are selected based on a defined criterion (Patton 2001), which in the case of phenomenology, is the ability of the participants to explicate a phenomenon (Robinson 2014). Thus, the main criterion considered in selecting the participants of this research is their experience with the phenomenon which is the remote special education for children with down syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were chosen regardless of gender, age, educational attainment, and years of teaching experience.

Moreover, a modest guideline for the sample size in phenomenology is offered by Morse (1994) in which a minimum of six participants is needed. Because of the COVID-19 constraints, however, this study only involved a sample of nine participants. It does not represent the population but is still considered adequate for the qualitative purpose of this research. The characteristics of the participants, as well as the age range of the children with down syndrome they handle in their class, are presented in Table 1.

Table 1.

Characteristics of the participants.

Participant	Gender	Age	Education	Length of teaching experience	Age of children with down syndrome in class
1	Female	33	Undergraduate	12 years	10
2	Male	36	Graduate	10 years	14, 16
3	Female	28	Undergraduate	8 years	6, 7
4	Female	30	Undergraduate	8 years	7, 8
5	Female	42	Graduate	9 years	13, 13
6	Male	37	Graduate	8 years	11, 14
7	Female	40	Graduate	9 years	8, 12
8	Female	29	Graduate	8 years	9, 11
9	Female	37	Graduate	10 years	4

It should be noted that the age range of children with down syndrome handled by the participants is between 4 and 16 years old. These children are placed in the schools based on their developmental needs.

Instrumentation

An interview guide was designed for the purpose of gathering data for this study. It consists of an introduction, a short survey of participant information, questions, and a conclusion. Particularly, six questions were formulated to explore how teachers tailor remote special education to address the needs of children with down syndrome amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The central question revolved around: What does it mean to tailor remote special education to address the wellness of children with down syndrome amid the COVID-19 pandemic? It served as the basis for the discussion points for the subsequent questions. The instrument was content validated by two education professors and a supervisor in special education. It was also piloted to at least one special education teacher who is not necessarily a part of the target participants to further ensure the intelligibility of the questions.

Data collection

The data collection for this research ran from August 02 to 12, 2021. Before the main data collection process, the researcher sent a communication to the target participants. He introduced the purpose and procedure of the research. Following the Department of Education Order No. 16 series of 2017 on Research Management Guidelines, the ethical aspects were discussed, underscoring that involvement in the study is completely anonymous, confidential, and voluntary. After securing their consent, interviews were arranged at the most convenient time for the participants.

Because of the ongoing movement restrictions and structural challenges such as very limited internet connection, an online modality of interview called text-based interviews (Salmons 2014) was adapted to gather the needed data. Consistent with the principles of phenomenology, this data collection technique provides an opportunity for repetitive reflection of experiences throughout the interview process (Bowden and Galindo-Gonzalez 2015). However, the lack of social cues in text-based interviews may increase ambiguity and misinterpretation of the responses (Chen and Hinton 1999). Thus, as undertaken in this study, the researcher actively engaged in dialogue, not silence (Mann and Stewart 2000), and carefully evaluated how the responses were constructed to ensure validity (James and Busher 2009).

The researcher sent the interview guide with the questions to the participants through Messenger. When the interview guide has been answered and returned by the participants, the researcher reviewed the responses. Text and instant messaging with the participants were employed as ways to clarify responses that appeared ambiguous and prone to misinterpretation. Then, after carefully noting all their responses, another round of text-based interviews was conducted as a way to gather more data on responses that need further probes. The researcher sent another interview guide with probing questions to the participants through Messenger and the participants expounded their responses. All the data generated from the interviews were automatically saved in the respective accomplished interview guide and organized in a master transcript.

Data analysis

As prescribed in phenomenological research, the experiences of the participants were analyzed through thematic analysis. It is a systematic process of coding data, examining meaning, and providing a description of the social reality through the creation of a theme (Berg and Latin 2008). The researcher initially acquainted himself with the data in the master transcript, noting down codes relevant to the phenomenon of interest in this study. Then, the codes were grouped into themes based on their differences and similarities. The researcher repetitively reviewed the codes and themes, returning to the master transcript until final results were generated.

A measure in qualitative research called member checking was applied. It is a validation technique for exploring the credibility of the results in which results are returned to participants to ensure accuracy and resonance with their experience (Birt et al. 2016). Thus, a copy of the emerging themes and their descriptions were sent to the participants for review until agreement was reached.

Results

Addressing the overall purpose of this study, the following themes emerged from the analysis of the responses of the participants. They are presented in Table 2.

Table 2.

Result of thematic analysis.

Sample significant statement	Code	Theme
We revisited the IEPs and identified teaching strategies in facilitating online self-learning modules. We made adjustments in teaching strategies like the including online ‘teacher Mom and Dad’ strategy.	Adapt remote teaching strategies in the IEPs	Contextualize the EIPs
I frequently do formative assessment but I adjusted the frequency of summative evaluation in the IEPs. I assess every three months to allow the pupils to fully master the competencies.	Adjust student assessment in the IEPs
The original targeted goals in the IEPs have been more simplified to align with the most essential learning competencies in special education in such way that we could still meet their educational needs despite the pandemic.	Simplify learning goals in the IEPs
We provided resources like tactile objects and video-recorded activities to develop their environmental awareness, gross and fine motor skills, and self-help skills, especially for children with severe developmental delay.	Give tactile objects and activities	Meet sensory and movement needs
We included learning activities that would allow them to help in some house chores like sweeping the floor, wiping the table, and grooming themselves that provide opportunities to meet movement needs.	Embed motor activities in house chores
I encourage the parents to take some time in a day for physical exercises with their children. They record and send dance performances of their children using TikTok app.	Advise physical exercise program
I stay connected with them like calling them through Messenger so they can see and talk to me even they are not in school.	Calling children via social media	Emotionally connect with children
When I retrieve or distribute printed self-learning modules, I give out simple praises and rewards for their attempts and achievements like stars or educational materials to make them motivated and valued.	Giving social and material rewards
During our phone conversation I let my pupils talk about their feelings, sentiments, and daily experiences. This simple phone conversation is our way of easing our longing from one another.	Allowing children to express themselves
We call the parents every day during the class time, if possible. We frequently discuss about the behavior of their children during their learning session at home.	Discuss with parents about behavior of children	Communicate often with families
I talk to the parents and families at least twice a week to keep track of the development of my learners. If and when there are challenges, I coach parents on the strategies that they can apply.	Mentor parents when learning challenges occur
I send the parents message through Messenger between twice and thrice a week. I usually ask if their children are cooperating in the activities and following the given tasks.	Monitor performance of children with parents
Aside from the parents and families, I ask assistance from the relatives and neighbors of my pupils in getting and returning the printed self-learning modules from the school.	Ask relatives and neighbors in delivering materials	Collaborate with community
Some of my students do not have access to professional help to look into their home program. So, I consult therapists in planning remote learning activities.	Seek expert help from professional therapists
I ask the assistance of our village captain in delivering materials to the homes of children, especially those children who live in far-flung areas. We identify retrieval locations or find means to deliver them door-to-door.	Enjoin community in reaching out children

Five themes emerged in the analysis. These are (1) contextualize individual educational plans; (2) meet sensory and movement needs; (3) emotionally connect with children; (4) communicate often with families; and (5) collaborate with the community. They are further discussed below.

Contextualize individual educational plans

The individual educational plans (IEPs) for children with down syndrome need to be contextualized to the remote special education modality. The teachers reconfigure the instructional elements like the objectives, contents, strategies, and assessment.

The teachers indicate that, based on their experience, primary IEP modifications focus on reviewing the learning objectives as mandated by the national education department. Teacher 7 shared that: ‘The original targeted goals in the IEPs have been more simplified to align with the most essential learning competencies in special education’. The teachers justified that reducing the objectives by matching to the prescribed most crucial competencies would ensure that the primary educational needs of the children are satisfied despite the changes.

Furthermore, the teachers design new teaching strategies to meet the IEP targets. According to Teacher 3: ‘We revisited the IEPs and identified teaching strategies in facilitating online self-learning modules. We made adjustments in teaching strategies like the including online ‘teacher Mom and Dad’ strategy’. The teachers stress the importance of instructional strategies that are innovative and attainable in remote special education so that the intended objectives would be satisfied.

The instructional elements in the old normal proved to be not workable in the new normal. Thus, the objectives, contents, strategies, and assessment of the IEPs are carefully reviewed to be relevant, appropriate, and responsive to the needs of the children with down syndrome. This theme provides insight as regards how teachers plan remote special education in terms of the particular elements of the IEPs.

Meet sensory and movement needs

Children with down syndrome are more often found locked within the confines of their homes, restricting opportunities for physical development. Thus, in planning the remote special education, the teachers provide resources and devise activities to respond to the sensory and movement needs of the children.

The teachers include tactile resources in delivering the distance instructional plans. Participant 3 recounted: ‘We provided resources like tactile objects … to develop their environmental awareness, gross and fine motor skills, and self-help skills’. This practice of the teachers can be contextually elaborated from the fact that most children with severe down syndrome in the country are usually situated in poor home environments.

Additionally, the teachers realize the need to incorporate activities that address the motor need of the learners. For instance, Teacher 1 said: ‘We included learning activities that would allow them to help in some house chores like sweeping the floor, wiping the table, and grooming themselves’. Aside from providing opportunities to meet sensory and movement needs, it can be drawn from this finding that the teachers also promote practical and life skills at the same.

The prolonged seclusion caused by the frequent local lockdowns implied not being able to physically move and perform routines like going to school. Hence, resources and activities are provided to address the physical development of children with down syndrome. This theme demonstrates how teachers consider the sensory and movement needs in designing remote special education.

Emotionally connect with children

The change from brick-and-mortar to remote special education also impaired the opportunities for socioemotional development of children with down syndrome. While onsite school classes are not yet allowed at this point, the teachers ensure to socially and emotionally connect with the children through different possible means.

The teachers give tangible and intangible rewards to promote the socioemotional needs of the children in learning. Teacher 4 narrated: ‘When I retrieve or distribute printed self-learning modules, I give out simple praises and rewards for their attempts and achievements like stars or educational materials’. As can be deduced from this outcome, the teachers believe that children who feel socially and emotionally connected become more motivated to learn.

Similarly, the teachers extend opportunities to listen and allow children to express their emotions. According to Teacher 5: ‘During our phone conversation I let my pupils talk about their feelings, sentiments, and daily experiences’. Drawing implication from this result, the teachers add value to instruction by providing means through which the children share their thoughts and feel more socially valued in the process.

The socioemotional aspect is twice a major issue in remote special education. As such, teachers find all possible ways to establish a socioemotional connection in the context of remote education and consider further the special socioemotional needs of the children with down syndrome. This theme calls for the teachers to maximize all the opportunities to connect with and address the related needs of the children in tailoring remote special education.

Communicate often with families

Given the new challenges magnifying the extant educational problems, the teachers turn to the families of the children with down syndrome. They establish communication lines with the families for instructional purposes. The role of the families in the implementation of remote special education is underscored at this moment more than it has been in the past.

The teachers increase communication with the families to monitor the learning behaviors of the children. Teacher 8 articulated: ‘We call the parents every day during the class time, if possible. We frequently discuss about the behavior of their children during their learning session at home’. This instance illustrates how the teachers play key role in supervising the learning process despite the distance and in the capacity of the families of the children.

Moreover, the teachers extend communication to guide the families on instructional implementation. For example, Teacher 2 stated that: ‘I talk to the parents and families at least twice a week…. If and when there are challenges, I coach parents on the strategies that they can apply’. The teachers in situations like this one serve as mentors to the families who now directly handle the children.

Communication with families is crucial, especially to remote special education of children with down syndrome. Teachers have to assist families with the new teaching responsibility through effective communication while remote. This theme rekindles the necessity for the teachers to open a new level of communication with families in implementing remote special education.

Collaborate with community

A sense of community is an important element to assure the effective and efficient implementation of remote special education for children with down syndrome. By involving the different individuals and groups in the community, the teachers address the challenges of remote special education and create a quality instructional plan and learning environment for the children.

With the difficult access to rehabilitation services common in the country, teachers serve as a bridge between the children and professional therapists. For example, Teacher 6 told that: ‘Some of my students do not have access to professional help to look into their home program. So, I consult therapists’. In this case, the teachers make use of their connections with professionals to gain the inputs to enrich the learning plans for children.

The teachers also link with the community members and officials and ask their participation in the successful implementation of remote special education. Teacher 9 responded: ‘I ask the assistance of our village captain in delivering materials to the homes of children’. This practice is especially applied by the teachers for those children who live in remote areas of the community.

The role of the community in remote special education consists of filling the gaps created by the current situation. The teachers leverage this role by connecting with different individuals and groups to help children with down syndrome achieve positive outcomes. This theme illustrates collaboration as an essential element in delivering remote special education.

Overall, these five themes underlie the phenomenon based on the perspective of the teachers as participants in this study. Set in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines, they constitute the lived experience of tailoring the remote special education to meet the wellness needs of children with down syndrome.

Discussion

Considering the general purpose of this research, the following themes emerged: (1) contextualize individual educational plans; (2) meet sensory and movement needs; (3) emotionally connect with children; (4) communicate often with families; and (5) collaborate with community. They are discussed as follows.

The first theme underscores ‘contextualize individual educational plans’ as a primary practice of the teachers to tailor remote special education for children with down syndrome. As the traditional mortar-and-brick education needed to be transformed to remote education, instructional plans needed to be adapted (Cahapay 2021b) to prevent risks of further inequality and vulnerability. Ferri et al. (2020) asked an important practical question on what schools should do with children with mental or physical impairments. Similarly, Daniel (2020) posed a critical question on what kind of curriculum should teachers use for remote learning. These concerns present a challenge for redesigning the IEPs and their learning objectives, subject matters, teaching strategies, and assessment tasks for remote special education for children with down syndrome

This theme is consistent with the practices found in the recent scholarly works in remote special education for children with SENDs, supporting the contextualization of IEPs. Schuck and Lambert (2020) described in their study that teachers first had little idea about how IEPs should be reworked considering the situation and consequently suggested maintaining the supervision of the attainment of goals for children with SENDs. Furthermore, Cahapay (2021a) discussed the contextualization of IEPs, focusing on adaptive learning methods, alignment of learning materials, and various modalities of delivery to cater to the needs of children with SENDs amid pandemic. Giraldo Martinez and Ramos Carvajal (2021) also designed new routines and technological resources to meet the pedagogical needs of children with SENDs. These studies illustrate how IEPs and their elements—learning objectives, teaching strategies, and assessment tasks—are contextualized to meet the needs of children with down syndrome in remote special education.

The second theme expresses ‘meet sensory and movement needs’ as another practice of the teachers to tailor the remote special education for children with down syndrome. Schuck and Lambert (2020) indicated that most children with SENDs have distinct sensory and movement needs, which may have been compromised nowadays. Toseeb et al. (2020) articulated that one of these sensory and movement needs of this group of children is the materials and physical equipment to meet their continuous development e.g. sensory objects or arts and crafts materials. Thus, it is an area of concern that teachers and schools must address. Teachers should assist parents and families on how to turn some practical home chores and materials into a springboard to meet the sensory and movement needs of their children with down syndrome.

This theme suggesting the need for promoting sensory and movement needs as an essential part of remote special education for children with SENDs is affirmed in recent related studies. One of the results of the study of Toseeb et al. (2020) showed that the materials and physical equipment to address the additional needs e.g. sensory toys, was one of the support needs articulated by parents to the teachers. Carver and Rowe (2020) noted in their study that not having face-to-face interaction between the teachers was frustrating for children with SENDs and physical materials were seen to be a learning solution. Stenhoff et al. (2020) also studied how children with SENDs can be supported amid the lockdown. Acknowledging the unique sensory and movement needs of children with down syndrome, it is advised that teachers need to prepare materials that are developmentally-appropriate, commercially-available, and caregiver-friendly.

The third theme is ‘emotionally connect with children’ which demonstrates the practice of the teachers in tailoring remote special education for children with down syndrome. The socioemotional impact of the pandemic was inevitable for children with down syndrome (Garbe et al. 2020). Thus, it becomes important to keep them psychologically and emotionally safe (Patel 2020). Despite interventions to manage the changes in routines and unpredictable events brought by the crisis, however, children with SENDs in general may still struggle (Barker 2020). As such, teachers should devise strategies to emotionally connect with the learners. According to Redenius (2021), the socioemotional connection from a teacher shows the caring and protection of the children with SENDs amid the pandemic. Thus, the various supports, instructional accommodations, and task motivations help in the remote learning process of children with down syndrome.

This theme that promotes the importance of the soft element of emotional connection in remote special education has been put forward in current research on remote special education for children with SENDs. Similar to one of the results of this study, Stenhoff et al. (2020) suggested in their study that behavioral supports e.g. token systems, is one of the remote education supports that teachers can provide to children with SENDs. However, such an element in tailoring remote special education continues to be a challenge. For example, in the study of Trzcińska-Król (2020), it was found out that teachers often designed distance learning materials that did not consider the emotional needs of children with SENDs. As such, in tailoring remote special education for children with down syndrome, teachers should not take for granted the emotional dimension of education despite the migration to a different learning modality.

The fourth theme emphasizes the need to ‘communicate often with families’ as another practice of the teachers to tailor remote special education for children with down syndrome. The remote modality of special education has stressed the role of parents (Cahapay 2021c) in the education of children with SENDs. Within the field of special education, however, Shaw and Shaw (2021) reported that, with the needed parent involvement, hindrances were encountered such as perceived lack of ability, challenging relationships, and mental condition. These hindrances are on top of the unique range of difficulties that they already encounter as parents of children with SENDs. Thus, support from teachers to parents through communication must be provided in the process of tailoring remote special education for children with down syndrome.

This theme focusing on the communication aspect of tailoring remote special education is evident in present related studies. At the onset of the pandemic, Schuck and Lambert (2020) reported that teachers focused mostly on making contact with families of children with SENDs. All communications were sent to ensure all families feel supported and had access to learning resources. Crane et al. (2021) also highlighted in their study that schools facilitated great quality of communication with parents of children with SENDs. They implemented a policy of weekly calls to families and discussed milestones and challenges. The same approach was reported in the study of Çelik et al. (2022) in which an emergency remote education program was designed for parents of children with SENDs. The teachers virtually meet the parents weekly to encourage continuous communication. These strategies are parallel to the good practice of teachers using digital means to communicate with families of children with down syndrome in this study.

The fifth theme articulates ‘collaborate with the community’ as a practice that facilitates the teachers to tailor remote special education for children with down syndrome. It has been a classical adage in education that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. It has never been more desired in the current situation of children with SENDs. Globally, the United Nations (2020) has called for countries to introduce collective actions to assist people with SENDs amid the crisis. Cahapay (2021a) described these collective actions as providing assistive technologies to augment information and communication, critical services to sustain medical and developmental needs, adaptive learning methods to continue education, and other social services to improve access and mobility of children with down syndrome.

This theme stressing the collaborative nature of tailoring remote special education, however, is found challenging in many studies. The research works of Averett (2021), Couper-Kenney and Riddell (2021), Toseeb et al. (2020), and Yazcayir and Gurgur (2021) revealed several issues on the collaborative nature of remote special education including scarcity of support education and care services and lack of communication among teachers and families of children with SENDs. As an approach to lessen the negative results of the crisis, Ferri et al. (2020) called for education stakeholders to make cooperative steps to improve remote education for all children including those with SENDs. Relating to the results of this current study, the practices that emerged such as maximizing the available assistance from the professional therapists in designing educational plans and community officials in delivering instructional materials can be contextual examples of these steps that must be instituted to make remote special education for children with down syndrome a corporate social responsibility.

Conclusion

Drawing from the lived experience of teachers, the main purpose of this research is centered on exploring how remote special education is tailored to meet the needs of children with down syndrome amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study hoped to provide insights about the facilitating actions that teachers apply to improve the wellness of children with down syndrome amid the global disruptive period.

The analysis of the responses of the participants indicated five themes. These themes express the phenomenon as follows: (1) contextualize individual educational plans; (2) meet sensory and movement needs; (3) emotionally connect with children; (4) communicate often with families; and (5) collaborate with community. These themes describe the lived experience of teachers as they tailor remote special education to address the wellness of children with down syndrome. It provides practical knowledge about the ways in tailoring remote special education for children with down syndrome from the perspective of the teachers and set in a novel situation.

This paper may be one of the first studies to explore this phenomenon of interest through the lens of the lived experience of the teachers as participants. However, some limitations must be noted. While the sample size met the guidelines in the phenomenological study, the researcher found the data not reaching a saturation point. The data collection approach used in this study was also constrained by structural challenges, thus the data may be affected by biases related to personal perceptions of the participants. Thus, when circumstances would allow, it is suggested that future related studies should involve a larger sample size and multiple data collection techniques to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the remote special education of children with down syndrome during a global crisis.

Disclosure statement

The author confirms that there are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report for this paper. It also has not been published elsewhere and it has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.