Twelfth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract

Students on the autism spectrum often enrol in distance education after all other educational settings have been exhausted. Distance education can provide these students with a viable opportunity to experience success in education. The case study presented demonstrates one such inspiring success story. It examines how a chronically disengaged student on the autism spectrum, at risk of school failure, re-engaged with learning via distance education. The student has completed a Life Skills Higher School Certificate and is currently on track to attend university on-campus. The benefits of distance education for students on the autism spectrum are numerous. Many barriers to learning that occur in traditional classrooms settings, such as sensory discomfort, social confusion, anxiety, fatigue and transition difficulties, can be partially or completely eliminated by enrolment in distance education. To maximise learning, adjustments to the curriculum can be highly individualised by teachers, and schoolwork can be organised by parents/carers around necessary appointments and therapy. Distance education, however, can be a double-edged sword: students on the autism spectrum can be become isolated from peer social interaction, parents/carers may feel overwhelmed by the demands of distance education, and families can experience economic disadvantage if a parent/carer is required to stay home to supervise their child. A secondary Learning and Support Teacher and the student’s parent working together in close collaboration contributed to the success achieved by the student in this case study. In partnership, the teacher and parent capitalised on the benefits of distance education, while mitigating the potential drawbacks.