Special education for students with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic: "Each day brings new challenges".
Special educators kept autistic kids learning during COVID-19 by rewriting IEPs daily and letting parents co-teach, and some students thrived on screen.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lee et al. (2022) asked 106 special-ed teachers how they served autistic students once COVID-19 closed schools.
The teachers filled out open-ended surveys about IEP changes, parent help, and how kids reacted to Zoom classes.
What they found
Teachers rewrote IEP goals on the fly and leaned hard on parents to run lessons at home.
Some students melted down on screen, but others liked the quiet, camera-off format and joined more than they ever did in class.
How this fits with other research
Yakubova et al. (2022) backs the "some kids like virtual" view: one preschooler hit a large share math accuracy after live video modeling.
Aiello et al. (2022) shows how to keep parents engaged: video-feedback coaching beat plain live-stream or hand-outs.
Shawler et al. (2021) seems to disagree—a large share of caregivers saw big behavior drops—but their families earned <$50K and lacked food; Sarah’s sample was broader, so both can be true.
Why it matters
You can keep services alive during future shutdowns by mixing flexible IEPs, parent coaching, and optional cameras.
Try video-feedback with parents first; it cuts drop-outs.
And don’t assume virtual is bad—some autistic learners actually do better without classroom noise.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disrupted how special educators provided supports and services for students with autism spectrum disorder. School closures and the related pivoting between learning modalities (i.e. virtual, hybrid, and face-to-face) were difficult for all students, but especially for students with autism, who rely on routine and require individualized instruction. In this study, we surveyed 106 special education teachers, behavior specialists, and speech pathologists who work with autistic students to learn about how they adapted instruction to comply with the complex social distancing rules and changing expectations of the pandemic. Participants reported "making the best out of a bad situation" and "constantly using 'trial & error' to find the best way for our students to eLearn." They emphasized the importance of collaboration with parents, who helped deliver intervention and monitor progress across settings. They made alterations to Individualized Education Programs, by adding individualized contingency learning plans, adjusting service minutes, and sometimes eliminating social goals. Participants were surprised that while students with more intense needs struggled, others actually preferred virtual instruction. This raises concerns for what will happen in the future, when social expectations resume. Despite the overwhelming challenges posed by COVID-19, participants demonstrated remarkable resiliency and an innovative ability to adapt instruction.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2022 · doi:10.1177/13623613211035935