Q&A with Kara Hume, Ph.D.,
Supporting Online Learning for Students with ASD

My son will do the work with his shadow/paraprofessional, but when it's time to do a zoom call with the teacher, he sees her on the screen and will start crying. Any advice?

I wonder if it is just so disorienting to see his teacher on a screen. It may help if the teacher could make a short video and send it to you. The video could just be friendly reminder that it is ok for the teacher to be on the screen/zoom and could include a topic or two of interest to your child. It could also serve more as a video model, where the teacher walks through the steps of logging on to Zoom and seeing her there. I wonder if just getting used to seeing the teacher on a video/screen may help when it is time to log on to Zoom. Another idea would be to make some sort of game that is fun for your child in collaboration with the teacher. What is your son into in? If it were Pokémon for example, perhaps the teacher could make sure a Pokémon character was going to show up sometime during the lesson. Your son’s job is to look for the Pokémon and circle/write what character he sees each day. Almost like a scavenger hunt. This may take the attention off watching the teacher and shift to watching for a character (have the character show up right away in the first few sessions...maybe the teacher is wearing it somewhere!). This can slowly lead into a greater tolerance for the Zoom sessions.

Any ideas to engage a silent 7th grader in my online social skill group?

I’d start with inviting the student to participate using the chat feature if possible, then add very structured ways to encourage participation (e.g. if playing charades, the quieter student makes a 1-word guess; if doing a show and share with something in the home the student can offer just a 1-2 word description of what it is; start each session with an icebreaker question...would you rather or what is your favorite...). Open conversation is hard in an online venue so instead try to structure activities to build comfort in the virtual session.

My pre-school son also has issues with transitions. We are struggling. He often lashes out, hits and spits. Any advice?

Yes, often transition issues are related to missing or not understanding cues (e.g. you may give a verbal warning and family members are putting on shoes as a cue to transition but your child may not attend to these cues). Consider using one of the visual countdowns I showed during the webinar so your child knows very explicitly that a transition is coming. It can also be helpful to use a transition object to indicate what activity is coming next (e.g. if it’s time for dinner, bring the plate or cup to your son, or bubble bath if bath time, or shoes if going outside). And if your son is leaving a preferred activity it can help your child to put the item/activity in a special place (we call it a “to Finish Later” box) so he knows he can return to it later. Here is a practical article I wrote all about different transition supports: https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/transition-time-helping-individuals-on-the-autism-spectrum-move-successfully-from-one-activity-to-another.html

As a teacher, how do we find a good home-learning balance work-load for those students in a hybrid model so that we don’t overwhelm the family?

I would offer lots of options for students and families on how they demonstrate the skills and families can choose what works for their schedule. This could include sending a paper packet of materials, completing levels in an online learning platform (e.g. iReady), drawing/making a video, completing activities around the home (e.g. if measurement is math content, could the student help make a recipe with the family and take a photo of it to submit), etc. I would also consider making “homework” activities that can improve the quality of life for the student with autism, e.g. goal to exercise for 15 minutes per day, engage in a calming routine for 15 minutes per day, text one classmate, etc.

Any advice on how to help my daughter with autism with impulse control? She has had a lot more aggression towards siblings after online learning, and is impulsively eating whenever she can sneak food (even with clear expectations).

I am not a mental health professional, but these sounds like signs of anxiety and your daughter may benefit from the support of a mental health professional who also has expertise in autism (here is a resource our team developed that may help: https://csesa.fpg.unc.edu/sites/csesa.fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/Anxiety%20in%20Adolescents%20with%20ASD.pdf). The stress of the pandemic, online learning, and all of the unknowns can be overwhelming for all of us, and much more so for individuals with autism. Offering opportunities for physical exercise and movement, teaching coping/calming routines, making expectations as visually clear and concrete as possible, reducing demands in other areas when possible, providing frequent reinforcement when engaged in positive activities, and adding in preferred activities regularly are strategies that can be helpful. In addition, cognitive behavior intervention (CBI) has proven effective to support individuals with autism and anxiety, and we have developed a free online module that can describe this practice and how a mental health professional may use it with your daughter: https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/cognitive-behavioral-intervention

Are social narratives the same thing as PECS or is PECS an example of a social narrative?

These are different practices targeting different skills, but both use visuals to help individuals with autism be more successful. Social narratives use visuals to help students with autism UNDERSTAND (supporting receptive communication) all types of situations, while PECS uses visual cues to help students with COMMUNICATE (supporting expressive communication). Social narratives allow us to tell our students something in a way they can understand and PECS allows our students to tell us something in a way we can understand.

A semi-verbal child is at home and has support staff visits throughout the week but wants to get that social interaction with a child his age. Are there any programs available for that?

If this child is enrolled in school, ask the teacher if he/she can get permission to share the contact information for classmates so they can set up times to Facetime, text, Zoom, Marco Polo, etc. together. If the child is not enrolled in school, explore online options to connect with others, including finding a course on Outschool, https://outschool.com/ related to the child’s interest, reaching out to a local parent’s group to ask for peer connections (many families across the country are feeling similarly lonely!), playing Minecraft or other interactive online games (monitored for safety!), or checking out what the local parks and recreation department is offering (many have virtual social offerings). In addition, connect with the local chapter of the Autism Society, as they often have social activities for individuals across the age range.

What are some tips you recommend for reducing depression in students with autism?

I recommend: 1) helping the student to stay connected socially with others in any fashion possible—online interactive games, book group, chess club, watching movies together using Netflix house party, texting/Facetiming others, social distanced walks/lunches, etc.; 2) supporting the student in getting regular physical activity/exercise through building it in as part of the daily curriculum and setting up homework expectations around being active (can use online yoga/workout videos, group activities); and 3) I also recommend being in close contact with the family and mental health professionals to ensure that everyone is working together to support the mental health of the student.

Other than Google Meet, are there other virtual platforms that you have found helpful?

I think Zoom is a good way to connect with students—it allows break out rooms for smaller groups and lots of interactive tools on the whiteboard so students can work together. Many schools use Canvas and others like Microsoft Teams. Students like to connect via Facetime, WhatsApp and Marco Polo.

My six year old daughter is really struggling with written work during class time and also with sound during class. She wants to take her headphones off. She wants to mute the teacher. She says it's too noisy. Do you have any recommendations for that?

It could definitely feel too noisy for your daughter given her sensory sensitivities. I’m sure you’ve explored these options, but could she take the headphones off and listen without them? Can volume settings be adjusted? Could she sit a bit further away from the device? Is it just the teacher who is too loud or other staff/students? It could also just be difficult for your daughter to adjust to virtual learning and seeing her teacher of screen could be disorienting/uncomfortable for her. If that is the case, then refer to the ideas provided in Question 1, as those may help your daughter to adjust to seeing her teacher online. Related to the written work, is using video as a way to respond an acceptable/feasible method? Instead of writing out an explanation for all activities, could your daughter (if able) explain or describe or show the response in a video format? Fine motor skills can be a difficult area for our students and without the usual support sin school from the teacher or occupational therapist, it is reasonable to reduce some of the written output expectations.

Many resources and tips can be found here: https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/supporting-individuals-autism-through-uncertain-times

DISCLAIMER: This information is for general education purposes only and does not constitute nor claim to be medical advice.