Max relishes routine — something school used to provide for this kindergartener.

But these days, the five-year-old, who is autistic and non-verbal, is lashing out. He recently pulled down the dining room chandelier, bit his mother’s arm and pulled her hair.

“Some of our kids really don’t understand what’s happening — that just heightens their anxiety,” says mother Maria Garito, of Milton, who advocates on behalf of special needs students.

“Families (of children with special needs) are in crisis mode ... for the last week, I’ve been in survival mode.”

Her comments come in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the province and city to declare states of emergency, and the shuttering of non-essential businesses and schools.

Garito’s son used to spend half a day in class with the Halton Catholic District School Board and half a day in therapy — but that was abruptly halted.

“His learning is based on a specific type of teaching that only a professional really should be doing,” says Garito, who worries Max will regress. “The hard work (done) over the last year, how much of it is he going to lose?”

Garito supports closing the schools and shutting down the broader community services Max relied on but is crestfallen speaking about the disruption to his routine, a routine that is key to development.

The Ministry of Education has provided some online learning resources for students, and Garito hopes to see more for those with special needs. It’s a comment echoed by educators and experts who have raised concerns about special education as the province develops learning plans for kids.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce is consulting boards, unions and his advisory council on special education on how to support students as the province plans for an extended school shutdown.

In a statement to the Star about the province’s general plans for learning, Lecce said he reached out to union leaders Wednesday “to discuss how we can support and educate students during this unprecedented time.”

They discussed “critical topics, but the crux of each conversation centred on our overriding priority to maintain student and staff safety and ensure our kids continue learning from the safety of their home,” he said.

They also talked about ways to “minimize student learning loss, strengthen professional development of educators to better support students online and outside the classroom, and efforts to ensure a continuum of professional care on issues such as mental health and special education needs.”

NDP education critic Marit Stiles is hearing from families worried about now and the future.

“What happens when they go back?” she said. “The government needs to work with the front-line workers who support these students, connecting them directly with families.”

Students who receive services such as speech therapy or social work at school need to know what’s going to happen to those services during a lengthy shutdown, she added.

“Speech therapists and other specialists are creative but also need to be supported to do this work remotely,” Stiles said.

A ministry source says it is working to unlock front-line workers, such as social workers, physiologists, special education educators within school boards, to reach out and assist special-education students during the closure.

At the Toronto District School Board, where children’s mental health is a key issue, professional staff have been asked to reach out to students they already have relationships with. Other boards are considering similar check-ins to ensure kids’ well-being.

Mississauga mother Rachelle Manios, whose daughter Tayla, 10, is non-verbal and significantly delayed cognitively and physically, is struggling to maintain her daughter’s learning.

Another daughter in Grade 7, who’s in a mainstream class, can do e-learning and make use of online resources — but not Tayla.

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Because online learning doesn’t work for all students, some are urging the province to ensure there is also a paper option for kids, as well as different programs for students with autism and other special education needs. Children with special needs, especially those with autism, may already use iPads or apps for their learning that can be used at home to keep up routines. For children with behavioural issues, some are calling on the government to consider setting up respite care to aid parents who may be overwhelmed at home.

Manios can help Tayla with life skills activities, such as holding a spoon and using a toothbrush. But the equipment teaching assistants use with Tayla — including a special-needs tricycle, balance beam, weighted ball and trampoline — are at her school. And Manios doesn’t know how to access them.

The Peel District School Board says it’s creating a distribution plan for parents such as Manios but must wait until it’s safe to reopen schools for this purpose. The board says it’s also creating resources to support students with special education needs.

“There are so many kids that are special needs who have support (while in school) — and now have nothing,” said Manios. “I hope the school boards don’t have special-needs kids and special education as an after-thought in the process of setting up at-home learning.”