Coronavirus: Autistic students navigate remote learning

Eleven-year-old Jack* has spent the last five years acclimatising to classroom learning and finding the right model of teaching for him.

"To bust up that model at very, very short notice was difficult," his father Sam* said.

"To suddenly transition from school one week to home schooling one week was a big and sudden shock. Not just to parents but schools and educators all across Canberra."

The year 6 Belconnen public school student has autism spectrum disorder and thrives on routine. He and his parents have adapted quickly to the dramatic change, retaining as much of Jack's school schedule as possible.

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Every morning, Jack puts on his school uniform and completes his work in a dedicated space separate from other household activities.

"He makes a little corner of school in our home," Sam said.

Work has been put on hold for Sam and his wife, with one of them constantly required to supervise Jack throughout the school day.

Some social pressures within the classroom have followed Jack home, something his parents have worked with the school to alleviate through small group and one-on-one work.

"A lot of kids with autism get uncomfortable with eye contact. When you have your whole screen filled with 20 kids all staring at you, because they're looking in their cameras, it's really overwhelming," Sam said.

Sam is looking forward to seeing Jack back on campus, following the ACT government announcement a staged transition back to school would begin on May 18 with the youngest and oldest students. On May 25 years 3, 4 and 10 will return with years 5, 6, 8 and 9 returning on June 2.

Aspect Hunter School deputy principal Megan Lloyd has seen the transition of students from classroom to home learning at Newcastle's specialised autism education school. She said the spectrum was broad and diverse, and while people had different experiences, difficulty processing change to routine was common.

She said families would need to cater to their individual needs but maintaining consistent patterns from the classroom where possible was critical for many students. She urged families to communicate with their schools and advocate for their needs.

Despite hurdles for some students, Ms Lloyd said the flexibility of remote learning presented benefits.

"Particularly the high school cohort are really flourishing," she said.

"A lot of autistic people are really driven around particular areas of special interest. You're more able to do that in an online learning environment and you can tweak the learning to fit your learning style."

Ms Lloyd said without the sensory and social pressures of a classroom, some autistic students were more focused.

Away from the distractions of a bustling classroom, 16-year-old Graham Bell has "loved" the transition to learning from home.

The year 11 Hawker College student had this year moved from specialised classrooms at high school, to mainstream classes.

His mum Vicky Bell said despite missing the practical aspects of classes like metalwork, Graham was happier learning from home and his anxiety had decreased. She said he enjoyed computer work and was less distracted.

With the announcement of a May 18 return date for college students, Ms Bell recognised the importance of returning to school for Graham's future, but said they were in no rush for him to get back to campus.

Fifteen-year-old Mia* is thriving academically with the shift to remote learning but has struggled with the drastic changes to her routine.

While the year 10 student would prefer to remain at home for her studies, the uncertain and ever-changing situation had increased her anxiety.

"It is inherently stressful for her because it's not what normally happens, it's not what she expects, it's not the routine," her mother said.

"She's struggling with that aspect of it because she is attached to standard routine. Her anxiety is pretty much out-of-control, both at the situation being different and with the idea of returning to school."

Mia's mum had been content with the ACT government response to schools until it "jumped the gun" on announcing a staged return to school from May 18 and wanted to keep her daughters at home.

"I don't want a yoyo year. I'd rather stay at home longer with the kids and when they go back be a lot more secure that they'll stay back."

She said the re-closure of classrooms due to an outbreak of COVID-19 or a second wave of cases would be extremely stressful for Mia.

She said she would welcome the introduction of remote learning post-coronavirus for students like Mia, who thrived in the home environment.

"In a perfect world that would be wonderful, if there was a facility within the ACT for children to sign up to a remote learning school that is staffed by teachers well versed in the technology," she said.

The Aspect Hunter School launched a distance education program in January, which Ms Lloyd said worked well for their students, particularly for students who specialised in one subject area.

"We see students being able to extend their learning more than they would have been able to in a classroom," she said.

However, she worried removing the social interaction of school long-term could be detrimental to students.

"If you remove those social opportunities that are inherent in schools, you remove the rapport, even with the adults in the space, I think it would be a scary long-term thing."