The world has experienced many drastic changes this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All safeguards and restrictions are meant to protect our health - with lots of success - but they are also often causing personal disruptions affecting many people in the Autism Spectrum Disorder community.

Stress, all around, has been intensified, and for many individuals with ASD, daily living has been met with many disruptions. From appointments being cancelled, to school and work being closed, to all social and friend time being moved online, there are many different factors that could push a person into a crisis mode.

We are the project coordinators for Autism Works. If you aren’t familiar with the program, AW is a social/pre-vocational skills program for youth with ASD and closely-related disabilities. The free program takes place in schools, once per week, in a classroom setting.  The curriculum - Social Thinking and Zones of Regulation - is appropriate for elementary through high school students.  Participating in this intervention program helps students to be better prepared for transitions throughout public school to graduation and ultimately to a career of their choice. In addition, AW provides Community Enrichment days several Saturdays per semester. Students from multiple schools come together and are provided community exposure and early work experience through volunteering and community events. 

So much of what we do with AW involves bringing the students together in a healthy, proactive environment so they can learn more about different ways to communicate and have lots of exposure to a variety of people! How can we still reach these students stay focused, social, and relaxed during a pandemic? How can we help their parents, who are even more overwhelmed with all of the information they’re having to keep up with from the schools PLUS the change of routine for their children? Here are some tools we’ve used!

Use Technology to Meet People Where They Are

We have been sending out weekly emails with short lesson plans for the students. We have also utilized Remind and Facebook to speak directly to parents. We recommend that kind of direct digital contact if possible! Websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers provide a lot of resources for individuals with autism. You can download social stories, schedules, and other visuals that your child may be accustomed to using at school.

Keep Your Child Informed and Engaged About the Changes

In parts of the schedule that need to be changed, talk with your children and let them know what will be changing, and the plan for what the day will look like with these changes. Just knowing what they can expect can be tremendously helpful in easing schedule-change stress. We encourage keeping as much normal as possible - wake up at the same time, get dressed, regular meal schedule, and

Balance School and Home Activities

Maybe your student is at home, and is having trouble bringing schoolwork inside. They may be used to doing school things at school, and leisure and family things at home. When creating a schedule, try to sandwich “hard” activities, such as homework, in between preferred activities like computer time.

The goal of the AW program is to develop social and pre-vocational skills that will assist students in overcoming barriers to employment, develop independence and become a contributing member in the community of their choice. We’re hoping for a return to safe, healthy normalcy sometime soon, but until then, we will continue coming up with ways to connect and engage all of our clients! We would love to know your tips and ideas, too - leave them in the comments here!

Baylee Treloar

Dianna Ward

Autism Works Program Coordinators