My autistic child has to learn how to navigate the internet. What should I do to help him?

I think the aim is to balance your kid's healthy media use and limit misuse. I would suggest that you start setting limits on when he can engage with devices. One hour is a good start. Most kids with ASD respond better to visual prompts than verbal reminders. A visual graphic that lets him see how much time is left is helpful.

Then make screen time a shared experience rather than something he does alone. Active parental co-viewing and co-engaging, which is basically you watching tv and kid videos together and engaging with them, have cultivated really healthy habits. This way, you can monitor his media use and teach him stuff through interaction. You can pause, ask questions, and encourage your child to tell parts of the story they were viewing. When I actively started doing this, I noticed my son enjoys watching or playing app games with me more. Even when I'm doing something else, he brings the tab when it's mommy's turn to play. So I also look forward to these bonding moments.

Some kids love a media character to a repetitive level, but you can use that interest to teach them to count, learn colors, or recognize emotions through their favorite characters. If you notice he's stuck to a particular show, you can switch it up by encouraging him to watch a new show with you. Also, download fun relaxation apps that will help him learn skills to calm himself. So while it's true that some skills don't come as easily to an ASD child, I believe there's plenty to learn as you help them navigate the internet.

When it's playtime, unplug completely. You can give your son fun activities that get him outdoors to a totally new environment.

I think depending on whether your son is low-functioning autistic or not will depend on what will work best. If you're worried about him over-indulging in his screen time activity and playing too many video games on his devices, then it may be worthwhile to get him some sensory toys to redirect his behavior.

Though I don't have an ASD child, my best friend's son is autistic and he has a tendency to do the same thing over and over and over again. Your son may enjoy a few strategy games on an iPad or like-device to help him learn how to problem solve quickly.

I know that this whole screen-time-crazy generation can be very scary. But, I promise you that as long as you can give him a little extra supervision and set limits with his screen time activity, you should be able to give him a good amount of fun time. exercise time, and playtime.

Best of luck!

Heather

The downside of all of this is that your son's school and teachers will be very limited in being able to help him with this. Unless your son is going to a special public or private school that has advanced training in ASD children, I wouldn't expect that the school administration and staff are trained in handling ASD children. With all the technology that is used in classrooms these days, your son may need extra supervision when using devices.

I am sure that there are will be educational exercises that your son will really enjoy completing in class but if things tend to get out of hand at home with over-stimulation or he's over his screen time limit, I would do my best to try and redirect him in the best way that you can.