MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — For some parents, finding childcare during the pandemic has been tough, but it has also been hard for people taking care of adults with disabilities.
Burton Cook is a parent that works from home, and he says his job has been very flexible during the pandemic.
Flexibility doesn't mean much to him, because his son Robert has nonverbal autism.
"When you have an important Zoom call, you can't just go to Robert and say, 'Robert, be quiet while I'm on this call,' because he doesn't understand words that well," Burton Cook said.
Cook watched Robert while working from home for about a month.
"It was brutal," Cook said.
Ellen Criswell and her husband Lee launched Rob's Place, a day care for adults and children with disabilities.
They named it after Cook's son because Ellen often watched Robert on the weekends when he was in high school and they grew very close.
"I asked his family what they thought about me taking care of him while I launched this business, and they agreed," Criswell said.
Ellen previously worked in Monroe County's special education program at Mary Persons High School.
That's when she thought of this idea.
"I noticed that when my students graduated, they didn't have anything to do. I would ask, "Well, what do they do after the graduate?" and usually the answer is that they would just stay at home. That made me think that we need to have something in our county for them to do," Criswell said.
Rob's Place was originally to open at the end of summer, but Ellen and her husband decided to open a couple months early to help families like Robert's.
"The school age kids, did not have anywhere to go because their parents were working so they really needed a place quick," Criswell said.
Rob's Place opened in May and so far they've cared for 7 adults and 10 kids.
"You have to put a lot of faith in whoever you select to look after your special needs child. With Ellen, she gives me so much peace of mind, it clears my head," Burton said.
Rob's Place offers full-time daycare to adults, and an after school program for children.