Telehealth Mask Wearing Training For Children With Autism During The COVID‐19 Pandemic

SARS‐CoV‐2 is the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and is spread through close person‐to‐person contact. The use of face masks has been described as an important strategy to slow its transmission. We evaluated the effects of coaching caregivers via telehealth technologies to teach face mask wearing to children with autism spectrum disorder.

Six participants with a history of challenging behavior associated with mask wearing were recruited from different parts of the world, and trained using graduated exposure, shaping, and contingent reinforcement. By the end of the intervention, all participants wore a face mask for . . .