Autism at-a-Glance - May 2020 - Using Technology to Increase Independence

Oct 15, 2026

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Autism at-a-Glance (May 2020) is a practitioner- and family-friendly series created to support high-school staff and families of adolescents on the autism spectrum. This installment focuses on using everyday technology to promote independence in daily living, communication, schoolwork organization, and social participation. It provides practical, technology-based strategies such as alarms and reminders for routines, weather and clothing apps, checklist tools, calendar and notes for homework, accessible note-taking options, recorded lectures, and guidance for school and community support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Using Technology to Increase Independence

Examples of Technology Use to Promote Independence

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autism at-a-glance May 2020 Autism at-a-Glance is a publication of the Center on Secondary Education for Students with ASD (CSESA) . [Image Credit: Pixabay.com](Image Credit: Pixabay.com) Using Technology to Increase Independence Autism at-a-Glance is a series of practitioner and familyfriendly documents created by the Center on Secondary Education for Students with ASD (CSESA) designed for highschool staff members supporting students on the autism spectrum, as well as family members of adolescents with ASD. The purpose of the Autism at-aGlance series is to provide a current summary of topics relevant to high school students with ASD as well as practical tips and resources for school and community personnel and family members. This Autism at-a-Glance was designed to support highschool staff and family members in promoting independence in daily living skills for adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum. M any teens with autism love to use technology and are using a variety of everyday technologies such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers for entertainment and for schoolwork. These devices can also be powerful tools to increase independence, something that teens need to be working on as they prepare for adulthood. (Hedges, Odom, Hume, & Sam, 2018) Examples of Technology Use to Promote Independence Here are some tips for ways teens can use technology at home, school, and in the community to be more independent. Initially, it may take some practice to get used to some of these functions, but once they are learned, they can soon become a regular part of everyday life. If needed, a reward system may help to get things going. Home Sam’s mom used to wake him up every morning so he wouldn’t be late for school, but after trying the alarm function under the clock icon on his smartphone, Sam had no problem getting himself up and ready for school. • Wake up in the morning by using the alarm on the clock function on a smartphone, iPod touch or tablet device. Increasing Independence [Image Credit: Pixabay.com](Image Credit: Pixabay.com) • Select clothes to wear by checking the weather to know what to wear. There are many weatherrelated apps including ones that make suggestions for the type of clothing for the particular weather forecast that day. • Keep track of tasks by creating checklists of things to do (list of chores to do on Saturday, or list of groceries to find at the store) . There are a variety of checklist apps including specific ones for groceries. • Remember to complete tasks like homework or walking the dog by setting a reminder alarm on a smartphone. • Communicate by texting with parents at work when a student arrives home from school, or with teacher when having difficulty with an assignment. • Increase social interactions by following friends on social media or joining an online community engaged in a special interest such as gaming, fiction writing, art, anime, astronomy, etc. The possibilities are endless. School Aisha is a good student but some days she would forget to do her homework, and this was hurting her grades. Her resource teacher taught her how to put daily alerts into her smartphone, so she was reminded every afternoon at 4pm to check her planner. • Keep track of homework assignments in a smartphone by adding them in the calendar section with an alert to remember to complete them at home. You can also write them in the Notes application on a phone or tablet, or you can take a picture of the assignments on the board. There are also a host of homework apps to help with keeping track of assignments. • Work on homework assignments in one place where they can be found easily. Google Docs or other free online word processors make it simple. Google Docs and many of these tools save things automatically so no more “dog ate my homework”excuses. Also, these tools make it easy to share documents with others, so students can get help wi

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Autism at-a-Glance series?

The series provides a current summary of topics relevant to high school students with ASD and offers practical tips and resources for school and community personnel and family members.

How can technology help adolescents with autism build independence in daily living?

The document suggests using smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers for routines such as alarms and reminders, task checklists, and communication with parents and teachers.

What technology strategies are recommended for school-related independence?

It recommends using smartphone calendars and alerts for homework, using online tools like Google Docs for organization and sharing, using laptops or photos for note-taking, recording lectures, and messaging teachers with questions with prior permission.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Mia