Fostering Self-Efficacy: Empowering High School Students with Autism and Their Parents to Confidently Navigate Online Learning

This mixed-method study aimed to determine if the implementation of a self-management intervention combined with ongoing parent coaching would promote improvement in self-efficacy (SE) for three students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in online high school and their parents. The intervention package included a technology-aided self-management tool, initial parent training of the intervention, and ongoing parent coaching. A multiple baseline design was used to measure the changes in perceived SE of the students that was measured using student SE questionnaires. Parent SE data were collected through a series of semi-structured interviews throughout the study. A mixed-methods analysis was used to determine how one set of data informed the other, and vice versa. Results suggest the intervention was effective at improving student SE. The parent interviews revolved around four main themes: student learning challenges, parent engagement with the students, parent self-confidence, and support for the parent. Each parent viewed the intervention favorably and felt more capable of supporting their students after using the intervention. This study highlights areas that must be considered when developing and implementing interventions in an online learning environment. Limitations of the study are addressed and suggestions for future research are provided.