Do I have school tomorrow, mum?

My son would ask me this question every night for the first six months of the pandemic . It became a familiar part of our bedtime routine, after pyjamas were put on and teeth were brushed. Hed seek his mothers reassurance; meanwhile, Id struggle to find the words. How do I tell my kids that everything will be OK, when Im not sure that it will?

My nine-year-old son, Isaiah, is severely intellectually disabled and considered non-verbal. One of my most heartbreaking experiences as a parent has been to watch him struggle without school, applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy or playgrounds, all shuttered to slow the spread of COVID-19. His anxiety would rise like steam off of his skin, palpable to me and his three siblings, his distress reverberating throughout our Toronto home.