"Coronavirus Social Story"

Exceptional Camels Interest Group leaders Kayla Distin and Jack Thomas partnered with illustrator Sumerlyn Carruthers to create “Coronavirus Social Story” to help exceptional children understand the virus and what they can do to help themselves and others stay well.

“The idea for the story came from our passion to care for exceptional children,” said Thomas, a second-year student at the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine. “We hope it will be helpful to all children, but we wanted to create something that could specifically help teachers and parents of exceptional children.”

“Rural special needs children and their families are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to lack of access to relatable and understandable educational materials,” added Distin. “We hope this resource can serve as an interactive and accessible way for this population to learn about COVID-19 and ways to slow down its spread.”