Covid-19: Opinion Piece
The following is from a concerned physician and friend of the deVeber Institute who practices Pediatric medicine.
“I have had the privilege of coming alongside families facing very difficult circumstances, not only in my practice, but also in my social circle. Parents of children with technology dependence needing night nursing have turned away this support to protect their children, and are now in their twelfth week of sleeplessness. Regular meetings with colleagues confirm that many of our patient’s families are in chaos, especially those with behaviour problems and limited resources.
There are stories in my own social circle of domestic disputes, police being called, and of marriages brought to the brink. Families at highest risk, whose children’s growth and well-being depends on frequent check-ins by home visiting programs, have fallen off the radar entirely. Children are at great risk in this climate. Less acutely, children with developmental disorders such as autism who require high intensity, in-person therapy have regressed in their developmental progress, which is heartbreaking for parents.
These concerns do not begin to touch on the dozens of procedures and imaging tests that will take months and perhaps years to catch up on, with critical time lost for the patients involved. For example, children with strabismus need prompt evaluation by ophthalmology for consideration of patching and surgery. The risk is of permanent cortical blindness for severely affected children with delayed care. This is but one example of the lasting, indirect impact of COVID-19.”
– Concerned paediatrician in Southwestern Ontario