Connecticut family shares 'heartbreaking' impact of school mask mandates
A mom in Bethel, Connecticut, told Fox News Digital her 6-year-old son with special needs 'tries to bolt from the mask' and her 3-year-old daughter is afraid of getting other people sick
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A mom of two children in Bethel, Connecticut, knows very well the struggles with mask mandates that many other families nationwide have experienced during the COVID pandemic.
She has seen "tons of rising anxiety" in her own kids, she said, which she believes are the result of in-school mask mandates.
The Connecticut mandates were imposed by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and have been enforced in the public school system during the bulk of the pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alexis Telep, 36, who works in radiology (her husband, Michael, is in sales), described in a recent phone interview with Fox News Digital the struggles their son Michael, 6, and daughter Lyla, 3, have been having.
"It’s heartbreaking," Alexis Telep said. "I have seen tons of rising anxiety in both my children due to constant masking."
Though both children are suffering, Telep said, it's the situation with young Michael — diagnosed with autism, sensory processing disorder, claustrophobia, anxiety and ADHD — that's particularly vexing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michael, 6, attends full-day kindergarten in Connecticut; state mandates currently require all public schoolchildren to be masked during the day. Lyla, 3, goes to private day care. Both kids have exhibited "rising anxiety" over the constant masking, mom Alexis Telep told Fox News Digital. (Alexis Telep)
The school mask mandate has been controversial — a group of parents even sued the state of Connecticut, claiming the governor's mandate was unconstitutional, as Fox61 reported in early February. A state court upheld the mandate; there's an appeal before the state Supreme Court.
Gov. Lamont's executive order on masks is set to expire Feb. 15, but the governor on Monday, Feb. 7, recommended the statewide school mask mandate come to an end on Feb. 28, Fox61 noted. State officials will give the decision about mask wearing in schools to local municipal and school officials, the outlet also said.
While all of this plays out, one American family continues to experience its own very personal difficulties.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}3-year-old is fearful, anxious
Three-year-old Lyla attends private day care four days a week. Alexis Telep says her daughter has developed a "constant cough" that she believes began when the mask mandates started. (There is no independent evidence that the masking caused the child's cough.)
"Her teachers tell her she spits germs at everybody without the mask on," Telep said. "So she comes home and doesn’t want to take the mask off."
The girl "even wears it to bed, for fear of making someone else sick."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NJ MOM, FORCED TO GET VACCINE BEFORE FAMILY WEDDING, WINDS UP IN ER
Telep said her daughter, as a result of all the masking, now considers herself "a walking germ."
The mom finds her daughter's anxiety "just so sad," she told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}6-year-old feels ‘trapped'
Son Michael has a full-day kindergarten schedule. Telep called her boy "a gentle soul — he’s like a little old man in a young body."
She said Michael has been in regular therapy ever since his diagnosis of autism at 18 months old. Before the mask mandates, Alexis Telep said her son's disabilities were "manageable"; she believes he was actually doing quite well.
The Telep family of Connecticut. Young Michael "basically tries to bolt away from the mask," said the children's mom, Alexis. (Alexis Telep)
That all changed when Connecticut ordered that schoolchildren had to be masked during the day. (Fifteen states plus D.C. have had mandatory masking for students, according to Education Week. Also, both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics support the masking of all kids over age 2, as Fox News Digital reported earlier.)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Given his sensory processing disorder, Telep said it's extremely hard for her son to wear anything on his face for any length of time. It causes an increase in his behaviors, she said.
"He basically tries to bolt away from the mask," she said.
Michael began to seem "closed off" after all his mask struggles, she said. He wasn’t as social anymore. "He was lost in his own world," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NC VETERAN CAN'T GET KIDNEY TRANSPLANT BECAUSE HE'S UNVACCINATED
When she reached out to an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) therapist about the issue, Telep said the therapist told her Michael was "trapped in his own mind, because he was so sad and anxious."
To add to the family's challenges, they lost their pediatrician around this time. "We were removed from the practice because Michael had a meltdown and they wouldn’t let him in [the office or exam room] without a mask," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We now have a new pediatrician and we love her," Telep added. "She is pro-choice on masks."
Exemption denied
The Teleps reached out to Dr. Christine Carver, Bethel Public Schools superintendent, to try to obtain a mask exemption for their son during the school day.
But the superintendent denied an exemption, they said, even after they submitted a form their pediatrician filled out — something they said the school requested.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michael and Alexis Telep. When they visited their son's school recently, they said, he was wearing a mask. They're determined to keep fighting for both their children's mental and physical well-being and safety. (Alexis Telep)
Devastated by the decision, the family said they consulted a disability lawyer, noting the governor’s masking order states that school administrators may exempt students from masks when they're unable to tolerate mask-wearing due to disabilities. The family is still considering their options with respect to any legal action.
Superintendent Carver, in a phone interview with Fox News Digital, said the school has worked extensively with the boy and his family.
"The special education team has worked incredibly closely with Michael, to get him toward being [mask] compliant," Carver said when Fox News Digital reached her for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Face masks must still be worn by kids in many public school districts across the country. Concerned parents have been speaking out about the stresses, struggles and problems with mask mandates and the constant, daylong masking of little kids. (iStock, File)
Carver said young Michael "does not wear a mask all day at school" — and added that while the family is not eligible for a medical exemption, they "have received help through the special ed process."
But Telep said when she and her husband recently visited the school, their son was wearing a mask.
Telep also said that Michael sits alone at a desk and isn’t much involved in classroom group activities because he won’t wear a mask. "He comes home and he’s upset, and he just shuts down."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He comes home [from kindergarten] and he’s upset, and he just shuts down."
Superintendent Carver shared other thoughts.
Regarding Michael’s in-class isolation — and whether or not this has been done for social distancing purposes — Carver said, "I don’t think this is the case at all now, but initially the guidelines were [to keep] six feet away, for safety."
Should the mask mandates continue in their state, the Teleps said they may consider other schooling options for their children.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But in the meantime, they're determined to stand up for their kids' mental and physical well-being and safety.
Elementary students wearing masks in the classroom during the COVID pandemic. The Telep family in Connecticut is determined to keep fighting for their children's mental and physical well-being, they told Fox News Digital. (iStock, File)
"We were emailed a general outline of strategies used in the school to help children wear a mask, but it was never implemented into his I.E.P.," she added, referring to her son's Individualized Education Program.
FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES FROM FOX NEWS, CLICK HERE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Telep emphasized that she is pro-choice about masking.
She said that if other parents prefer their kids to wear masks, that's their choice and it's fine with her.
"You do what’s best for you," she said. But "let me do what’s best for me and my children."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A young girl wearing a mask. Researchers say parents and guardians should remain aware of how their children are coping during this stressful and confusing time. (iStock, File)
Telep said she and her husband "are committed to seeing this [situation] through until changes are made."
She noted that her family is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are not ready to make that decision yet for any of us," she told Fox News Digital.