The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

As the rise of social media has become popular, so has the need for understanding privacy controls on the internet. Now, it has become so common for children and young adults to join online communities about their various interests. Although research has shown there are proven benefits to connecting with peers in a virtual environment, the research about disclosure of private information yields disturbing conclusions. Simply explaining how to protect personal information in this technological age is not enough for young adults and children who are unable to fully grasp the inherent danger of letting the virtual world know all about them. We have also not fully educated our youth about how to effectively use social media and the hidden curriculum associated with various platforms.

We are at a point in human history where people are globally connected more so than any other point in time. With individuals being able to communicate instantly, it’s important we understand HOW to effectively communicate using this new medium. Discussing social media in a disability context is an even newer field of study and one recently gaining attention. As professionals, we need to teach what information is safe to share, how to effectively interact online, how to professionally use social media, and how to foster appropriate online relationships. Through this medium, children and young adults can access a wide world of options to help them discover infinite possibilities of careers or activities. This presentation will focus on ways to use social media to benefit the individual. The benefits can be social or employment based.

Social media safety for young people with social communication challenges is a research topic in its infancy, but it mirrors a more familiar challenge that provides a framework for common issues and how to address them. It is well-known that these children often want to have friends but struggle to make them, and there are myriad studies showing that social skills lessons and groups effectively target those challenges. Today, much socialization takes place online. For some youth, social media is an opportunity to communicate and relate in ways they may not be able to do in person--but they must learn how to stay safe. The best approach is taking the social modeling, visual supports, and role playing of typical social groups and adapting it to the technology of today's friendships. With tech-targeted content, youth can learn the social awareness needed to stay safe from threats like cyber bullying, exploitation, or compromising their personal safety in their search of acceptance. This presentation hopes to start a conversation on this issue in hopes that it leads to evidence-based models of guiding teens in cyber safety. When the larger professional community spends time and resources on this topic, they allow its importance to permeate the autism community. In time, this sets the stage for new studies and the development of high-quality curricula to allow critical information to reach as many young people as possible as they make healthy, positive connections through social media.