MissingSchool was featured in an article from Kids News. To view the original article click here.
Ethan Waller schooling from home with The Lakes College students on January 27, 2021. Picture: Richard Walker
A telepresence robot nicknamed robo-ethan is helping Ethan Waller attend class virtually and keep connected with his classmates while he can’t be at school in person.
When Ethan got sick, he couldn’t go to school, see his mates and could barely leave his bed. He thought people would forget about him.
And then a robot came to his rescue.
Ethan Waller was 15 when he developed glandular fever, which caused a neuro-immune* disorder called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis* and another condition called Dysautonomia*.
His mother, Shelley-Lee Waller, was scared he wouldn’t graduate and was deeply worried for his future.
“At the time he was unwell, he couldn’t really read, we had to scribe* his assignments verbally*, things were pretty dire* at his worst,” Ms Waller said.
“We’ve had a dreadfully hard time, honestly we didn’t think he would graduate.”
But thanks to a robot from the MissingSchool foundation the 18-year-old is now only two subjects away from graduating.
“The robot kept me connected to my friends and kept hopes of my future alive,” Ethan said.
“Without the robot, I probably would’ve failed school and had no prospects of a career.”
Ethan Waller schooling from his home with The Lakes College students Lachlan Aitken and Ashleigh Stevens. Picture: Richard Walker
The telepresence* robot helps Ethan attend school from his bed. He controls where it goes, seeing through the camera while connecting with his classmates.
“We would not have been able to do it without the robo-ethan as we call it, there is just no way he would have been able to teach himself with a textbook from home for five years,” Ms Waller said.
Unfortunately, not every student that needs one gets a robot like Ethan’s. Ms Waller has personally heard stories of kids being left behind in schooling due to long-term illnesses.
CEO and co-founder of MissingSchool Megan Gilmour is trying to fix the problem for some of the 60,000 kids missing school every day in Australia.
“Sick children missing school is an issue that everybody needs to be involved in. We can’t solve it on our own, but we can together.”
The robot has been cleared for use in Queensland since 2019, so far supporting 10 students in the state with 39 schools currently considering robot placements.
The Queensland Children’s Hospital School bought 10 robots to help students across the state and the country.
The University of Southern Queensland is researching the affects of the robot on students, and according to Associate Professor Petrea Redmond, it’s “definitely positive.”
“Across Australia there is anywhere between 2 and 12 per cent of our children are away from school due to a serious illness so it’s a big problem on a large scale,” Ms Redmond said.
“It’s definitely been a positive thing and the parents talk about the social connection more than the academic connection, because that’s what the children talk about mostly that they miss.”
GLOSSARY
DO NOT USE-immune: describes disorders or diseases that affect both the nervous system and the immune system
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME): a long-term disease that causes symptoms throughout the body and is often triggered by a virus or flu-like illness
Dysautonomia or autonomic dysfunction: is a condition in which the body’s autonomic nervous system doesn’t work properly. The autonomic nervous system controls the working of organs such as the heart, intestines, blood vessels and even the pupils in the eyes
scribe: write something down
verbally: using words
dire: very serious or urgent
telepresence: being somewhere with the help of virtual technology, rather than physically being present
