What is Learning Mechanism

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a paradigm shift in the delivery of instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), forcing educators, therapists, and behavior analysts to pivot across programming with little lead-time. This chapter first presents the transition to remote learning for one New York City-based applied behavior analytic school for students with autism. Direct instruction (DI) in the remote learning format is then recommended as an ideal teaching methodology. The chapter then presents preliminary support for the remote use of DI through quantitative data for seven of the learners in this ABA school. Later, these results are discussed with respect to key design features of DI and the applicability of these findings to students in circumstances that would normally preclude them from receiving high quality instruction. The chapter concludes with a brief tutorial to guide educators in adopting this methodology to remote settings.