Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill with 30,000 issues every Friday
VOL. XLII NO. 37
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
www.signaltribune.com
September 4, 2020
PARENTING
Stay-at-home, schedule switches and special education How one mother of twins with austism is adapting to the pandemic Emma DiMaggio Production Manager
Maria Aguirre has twin 3-yearolds, Hector and Wilhelmina. Both have autism. “We are tired by the end of the day,” Aguirre said. “And that tiredness rolls over to the next day, and the next and the next.” Before the pandemic, she and her children went out almost every day. They’d head to the nature center, the beach or use their annual passes to the aquarium. For three hours each day, they’d head to LBUSD’s special education program. When COVID-19 struck, all of this came to a screeching halt. No more outings. No more family visits. No more in-person classes. Her kids were just about to start preschool, a symbolic moment for her children and the mark of Aguirre’s first real break in three years. “Before COVID, it was great. They had finally started going to school. We had a routine. They knew their routine. They were doing really great. I was finally getting my little break, so happy,” Aguirre said. “[Now], there’s more meltdowns. There’s just overall more stress.” Instead of a breath of relief, the fall
semester represented another laundry list of responsibilities. “What class are they going to be in? Who are their teachers going to be? If it’s virtual learning, what time is school going to start? What time is it going to end?” Aguirre said. “If they change the time of day that school is, then I have to change the time of day that their therapy is. Their therapist might not be available anymore at the new time, and then it’s a complete change.” Hector and Wilhelmina attend applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy. Leann Hardwick is an ABA clinical director who teaches at Cal-
BACK TO SCHOOL
ifornia State University, Long Beach. She explained that ABA therapy is “a scientific method to teach, essentially to break down skills into teachable parts in a way that increases the quality of life.” This therapy is an essential part of long term skill-building and learning for Aguirre’s children. Without fully understanding what the coming semester will look like, she’ll have to roll with the punches. “It’s very hard to plan for the future when I don’t have any information,” Aguirre said. “I don’t see why they’re waiting until a few weeks before school starts to plan things.”
Illustration by Emma DiMaggio | Signal Tribune
Her first task— getting Hector and Wilhelmina into the same class. When LBUSD released class schedules for the coming school year, Aguirre learned that her children had been placed in different classes. Each had a different teacher and a different set of assignments. With her husband working from home, she had no one to watch one child while the other was in class. “How can they not realize that? They’re the same grade, they’re brother and sister,” Aguirre said. “They expected me to put up two difsee MOTHER page 5
750 school supply bags claimed in less than an hour during Local Hearts Foundation Back to School Drive Lissette Mendoza Managing Editor
Lissette Mendoza | Signal Tribune
Nayeli Castro and her family from Inglewood were recipients of an Amazon Fire Tablet at the 5th annual Local Hearts Foundation Back to School Drive on Saturday, Aug. 29.
With lines of both vehicles and walk-ups wrapping around two blocks, it was evident that the demand for school supplies was at an all-time high at the 5th Annual Local Hearts Foundation Back to School Drive on Saturday, Aug. 29. at Macarthur Park located in East Long Beach.
Come checkout our expanded outdoor dining and carhop service! * Dining Room Closed
Over 50 Local Hearts Foundation volunteers set up at MacArthur Park and in front of the Mark Twain Public Library to distribute 750 bags full of daily essentials and school supplies. Volunteers were up past midnight the night before, preparing hundreds of bags for the drive which contained items such as pencils, Creative Flow Arts folders, Dr. Squatch soaps, Bombas socks,
Grizzly t-shirts, notebooks, Big Sleeps facemasks and other items. “We wanted to be able to give them those tools so when they do go back [to school] they at least have something at home, “Tito Rodriguez said, cofounder of the Local Hearts Foundation. Recipients were able to either drive through the pick-up zone or walk up on a separate line as long see BACK TO SCHOOL page 7
We’re bringing back the classic CARHOP service! Here’s how it works: • Park in our lot • Call 562-612-3456• Ask for a carhop Enjoy #JimmyEs in the comfort of your car!
Open at 11 s a Tues m d thro ay u Satu gh rday !