Media mention: Bhattacharya discusses challenges of remote learning
In a guest column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, assistant professor Usree Bhattacharya highlighted the challenges of remote learning with a child with disabilities who relies on a sophisticated eye-tracking device to communicate with teachers and therapists.
Bhattacharya’s 5-year-old daughter, Kalika, has Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects about one in every 15,000 live births, primarily girls. It leads to a near-total loss of speech, limited functional hand use, mobility issues, breathing problems, sleep disruptions, seizures, and gastrointestinal issues.
“She stopped going to daycare in March,” Bhattacharya said. “Since then, a child who was doing well overall began struggling to walk; had painful bouts of cataplexy several times a minute; struggled to talk; couldn’t sleep well; and, worst of all, experienced the dreaded onset of seizures. Friends she’d been close to at daycare slipped away; our only child was locked in a friendless and lonely world. It was too dangerous to risk exposure, so she was completely isolated.”