Assessment of Feasibility of Face Covering in School-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Aaronson et al. (2021) ran a summer school program for kids with autism and ADHD.

They used positive behavior supports to teach the kids to keep face masks on.

The team tracked what happened before and after the program, but there was no control group.

The paper says the program was “feasible,” yet it gives no numbers.

We do not know how many kids wore masks or for how long.

The abstract simply states that outcomes were reported, not that they improved.

Cowell et al. (2023) reviewed seven single-case studies and found big, steady gains when therapists used graded exposure plus reinforcement.

MShawler et al. (2021) showed all six autistic children reached 30 min of mask wearing with a resetting DRO schedule.

These clearer, data-rich studies make the 2021 cohort report look like a rough draft, not a finished guide.

Still, all papers agree on one point: behavioral tactics can make mask wearing possible for autistic kids.

You now know that mask teaching is doable, but you need more than a “feasible” label.

Copy the methods from Cowell and MA: start with short trials, deliver strong praise or tokens, and slowly lengthen wear time.

Track minutes and graph the data so you can prove the skill is really there.