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distance education

H

harrietjansson

Well-Known Member
In my country we have a lot of working from home and distance education due to covid-19.
I have heard that many people with ASD don't do well in distance education. It's bad for people with ASD. To me this sounds crazy as people are different. I mean, some people probably despise whereas others like it. Not having to deal with a lot of social situations in a classroom must be a nice thing for people with ASD. Getting rid of a lot distractions must be very nice.

I take music lessons online and the only really problem is the physical aspects. It is easier to learn physical skills with a teacher who is in the same room. I must say that it is nice to be able to have music classes without leaving my home. A friend of mine who also have ASD says that he might actually get more done at home than at other places. I feel the same.

I myself sometimes like and sometime hate the classroom experience. Small groups are ok but big groups with a lot of distractions is terrible.

Why would people with ASD dislike distance education? Are there people with ASD who like the classroom experience? What are your personal experiences?
 
It depends on the person and the person with ASD, no doubt. I think at a minimum, we can take a very educated guess that most ASD people like the part where socialization is minimum. But, ironically, even though that stressor is lessened greatly, some with ASD don't cope well with learning within their new environment either.
 
paloftoon said:
It depends on the person and the person with ASD, no doubt. I think at a minimum, we can take a very educated guess that most ASD people like the part where socialization is minimum. But, ironically, even though that stressor is lessened greatly, some with ASD don't cope well with learning within their new environment either.
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home is a bad environmet for some with ASD? They have difficult family members? Or does distance education mean that you get less help from teachers? I cannot imagine that being the case as you can talk to teachers with Skype or Zoom.
 
harrietjansson said:
home is a bad environmet for some with ASD? They have difficult family members? Or does distance education mean that you get less help from teachers? I cannot imagine that being the case as you can talk to teachers with Skype or Zoom.
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Depends on the family. Home can sometimes be a great environment. Some students have to worry about getting physically attacked when they go to/from a physical brick and mortar building. Or, said student can go to a brick and mortar and be bullied in a physical school. So, generally speaking, doing school at home is normally safer. This kind of fear in one's commute generally occurs in poor sections of urbanized neighborhoods.

Most distance education is actually more flexibility with help from teachers potentially because scheduling outside of classes is more flexible. Depends on the teacher a bit, but the convenience of a solely cyber environment (with great computer skills on all ends) can actually lend itself to more availability and attention. Also, if you're a student who wants to advance in certain subjects but not others, say you are a 7th grader who wants to and should take 12th grade math but 7th grade everything else, this is much more possible in a cyber environment even if you have to listen to a recording or choose which live class to attend and which recording to listen to if there must be a schedule conflict. The student must also be highly motivated, but the possibilities to make it all work are much more possible in a cyber school overall.
 
paloftoon said:
Depends on the family. Home can sometimes be a great environment. Some students have to worry about getting physically attacked when they go to/from a physical brick and mortar building. Or, said student can go to a brick and mortar and be bullied in a physical school. So, generally speaking, doing school at home is normally safer. This kind of fear in one's commute generally occurs in poor sections of urbanized neighborhoods.

Most distance education is actually more flexibility with help from teachers potentially because scheduling outside of classes is more flexible. Depends on the teacher a bit, but the convenience of a solely cyber environment (with great computer skills on all ends) can actually lend itself to more availability and attention. Also, if you're a student who wants to advance in certain subjects but not others, say you are a 7th grader who wants to and should take 12th grade math but 7th grade everything else, this is much more possible in a cyber environment even if you have to listen to a recording or choose which live class to attend and which recording to listen to if there must be a schedule conflict. The student must also be highly motivated, but the possibilities to make it all work are much more possible in a cyber school overall.
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12th grade? Is there even such a thing? I have never heard of it.
So distance education requires more organizing from the student which can be a bit difficult for us with ASD?
 
harrietjansson said:
12th grade? Is there even such a thing? I have never heard of it.
So distance education requires more organizing from the student which can be a bit difficult for us with ASD?
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Depends on what the student has trouble organizing.
In some distance learning options/courses, the material is already available and the student doesn't have to wait on a teacher to create or re-create material potentially.
 
I graduated my online Master's program with a 4.0 (out of 4.0). No, I did very well online. It is not easy or perfect, but there is no reason a person with ASD cannot succeed.
 
Finder said:
I graduated my online Master's program with a 4.0 (out of 4.0). No, I did very well online. It is not easy or perfect, but there is no reason a person with ASD cannot succeed.
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wasn't it nice that you did not have to deal very much with the unpleasant school environment?
 
harrietjansson said:
After ninth grade we have gymnasium
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If you're referring to physical education, the last I recall is that it was a requirement right up to the first year of college in the US.

In my freshman year in college I took badminton and jogging just to get it over with for the last time.
 
I'm in online high school and have been for a few years. I do a lot better than I did in brick and mortar school, but that's because I'm an adolescent and have developed some degree of self discipline, and there's not the sensory distractions and schedule-change adjustments (going to new classes, dealing with new teachers in person, being with a bunch of different kids, etc.).

If I was in online school in elementary school I probably would have done much worse and got held back in certain grades because I required adults to keep me on track, plus the fact I should have been in special ed. for longer than I was (I only was in first grade) because I required a lot more assistance with my attention and work than my peers did. I don't think I could get assistance like that in OS and my parents certainly wouldn't have done that.
 
Online learning is ok for me, but I don't like online tests. Teachers know that we will cheat, so they give us harder tests than they would give in school and also give crazy time limits. History test once consisted of 35 questions (some multiple choice, but some where you have to read a text and answer the question or describe something yourself) in 20 minutes. I'm going into gymnasium in Croatia (everything is described on wikipedia link above) and currently 3rd year of gymnasium (11th grade in US standards). I think my gymnasium is among hardest in Croatia and always has great results on national exam. But is also sometimes freaking hard.
 
For me, I love basically everything about distance education, except that a few of the classes have scheduled online lectures (vs recorded lectures that you watch at your own leisure). For some reason, being on camera makes me even more uncomfortable than being physically in the class (must be the uncertainty of whether or not somebody is looking at me). Because I am in my own home where I a) am used to feeling safe to act out my stims, and b) am surrounded by all the things that capture my attention (including very needy cat), it is really hard for me to "act normal" and pay attention in a way nt's deem respectful (it's easier for me listen if I am not making eye contact, and if I'm fidgeting/stimming). The characteristics that have always had me labeled as "neurotic" or "weird" drastically increase when I am forced to be on camera but especially when I have to speak. I don't know where to look, what to do with my hands, how to regulate the speed and volume of my voice, when to speak vs listen. It doesn't help that my technology is ancient and frequently causes issues. Also classes are smaller, so profs seem to feel a need for everybody to go around and introduce themselves, which I hate.
The benefits from online education has far outweighed these things, but I they are still extremely frustrating.
 
I’ve been doing distance learning courses for year and most work better for me then “normal” classsroom. However I have found courses which have gone distance learning because of Covid haven’t worked as well. As teacher don’t know how to work it to be distance learning. I
 
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