Drs. Rebecca Hines and Lisa Dieker, UCF Faculty members, share their thoughts on the issue of safety for all students, but especially students with disabilities safety in an online environment. They share their thoughts about how to think about safety and some practical ideas they have heard related to the topic.
Drs. Rebecca Hines and Lisa Dieker, UCF Faculty members, share their thoughts on the issue of safety for all students, but especially students with disabilities safety in an online environment. They share their thoughts about how to think about safety and some practical ideas they have heard related to the topic.
spk_0: 0:04
Welcome to practical access. I'm Lisa Dieker, and I'm Rebecca Hines and Becky today we got a question. I'm not sure we can answer, but we're gonna try. How do we protect our kids? That disability in this online shift and world and just kids in general for safe?
spk_1: 0:26
Well, that's an interesting topic in a really tricky one since the kids were not sitting in our classrooms. Now they're sitting in their homes. Yeah, but I think, broadly, I realize that puts a lot of responsibility on the parents, and yet they're in the home. So I feel like, parents have to educate themselves a bit. I hate to say that at the time that they're already said swamped, but I don't know, actually who is responsible, and I just had this conversation with the local school district. Everybody's reading everything about Zoom. They're doing things in zoom. They're also getting ready to push out some things through, possibly even things like Facebook live. And it's it's the constant question. Do we let kids appear on Web camera? Do we delay strains? How do we protect checked them do we ask for additional medium releases if we are streaming it without some really, really tight security? So these are all things that are brand new. I know a lot of attorneys for schools and school districts. We're looking at it, and obviously you have to follow whatever is the policy. My feeling, though. Honestly, if I'm appearance, I I'm already probably struggling with whether or not to let my kids use their cameras on their computer. So I think it has to start with parents turning off the camera. They don't want their kids to appear on there and, you know, advocating for themselves if they worried about other privacy issues. But I don't know that there's new media releases and things like that that are necessary at this moment.
spk_0: 2:10
Well, and not just turning up the camera, but do you have we have opposed to note over. Ours were pretty high tech in our house, but, you know, again knowing that people can get in a camera any time, I think that's a safety piece. But I actually think the hardest for me, and I'm gonna go back to being a parent for a moment is I still remember the fight in the argument that our son had a disability. So when do we let him have a cell phone? When is he mature enough? When these texts. And you know, for Josh, do we let him text and everybody make fun of him because he will tell you he's the worst speller on the planet. And yet for his birthday, my favorite thing you ever said was for my birthday. I'm most grateful for Siri. He spelt it s e r e. It's like, Well, okay. And so one of those things that I think about being a parent advocate with the disability is there's this real tug in your heart between letting them grow up and protecting them. And I think that protection is what everybody is kicking in and thinking about safety. I think it's not just safety, but how do I protect my kids from online stalker, cyber bullying and all of that? And so I always kind of say, Well, you know, first, I'll look around. Well, you can't look around right now, but you can talk to parents, you know, what our other kids do. They have cell phones. Do they have text messaging? Do you let him text anybody they want? Do you use parental controls? I even noticed that, you know, we've got some TV like our TV provider is offering some, different premium channels. But I was immediately going gosh did to turn on the parental controls. So I'm with you, Becky. I think it's a really hard time to be a parent, but I always say talk to other people who have kids that are neuro typical and ask what they're doing and see how close you can get to that unless you think it's that parent that you know, lets the kids down till midnight. Therefore, that's a totally different discussion, but I don't know what your thoughts there.
spk_1: 4:00
Well, there are lesson plans on Internet safety and available online. So for our really vulnerable kids in particular, the kids who may not fully understand, I think is a family member of you know, someone with significant needs, I would probably look at his developmental age, and I would probably look for a lesson plan on Internet safety because I honestly I don't know off the top of my head, I'm not sure exactly what to teach. You know, my own family members about Internet safety other than just the common sense things we say is apparent. But for somebody who may be at a different level developmentally, I would probably look for a lesson plan. And for some of the language. I know that a lot of them in clean charts, you know, just just in the same way. Lee said that. I don't know what populations of kids have worked with, but when I was really young and I was working with kids with really significant intellectual disabilities, the standard statement of Stop, Don't Touch Me, there literally That's what was just ingrained and practiced and practiced in practice to try to help keeps kids safe in in a physical environment. So in an online environment, I think we do. For for those kids who may maybe a different levels intellectually, I would definitely look for a lesson plan and see what keywords I should be trying to reiterate or what key actions I should reiterate.
spk_0: 5:31
Yeah, and I think you know, Cem again. I think the word common sense is a good one. And yet sometimes we don't even know what to have sense. Because, you and I were fairly tech savy, but we didn't grow up eight with a cell phone trying to figure out if we were supposed to use it to tell you. I know that's bad news that we're not 20 you know, you didn't know we are above 20. If you have been listening to our guests, I can see that. But what's interesting, too, is thinking about kind of the levels, and I'm gonna share some light personal thoughts. I'd love to have you bounced off on this, Becky. But, for example, face time, I feel very safe because you and I have to call each other and no one can really come into it. Whereas I think Zoom were saying that someone else can come in and eavesdrop. There's other platforms, like Adobe Connect, that you actually have to invite people into the room and passwords. I think all of that is something to think about. But I do think giving your kids that opportunity, even at a young age, to use something like, there's a watch called the gizmo that one of my neighbors uses that has a GPS tracker because again their son has some significant needs that way. They always know where he's at, but it's got four buttons and teaching him that. You don't hit the button and call somebody at work every five minutes. So start with that gradual release again of something small and easy like you can face time, Grandma. Now you can face time your cousin on Deacon do that once a day. You can't do it 20 times a day and teaching that safety and then moving into some of these other environments as you talk about safety in those environments. But that's just one thought I have. What do you think?
spk_1: 7:04
I think that's I think that's a great idea. I think that that having a designated device or or programming in, even in the same way that you do on your computer, I'm using things like Symbol who one of my friends was just reminding me of that particular program where you can create links that are visual and and limit them to certain things. I do think it's a good idea right now to be figuring out how the limit just what kids visually have access to. I'm not huge on trying to lock down everything, because honestly, people can always always figure out all of that. I do think we have to get our kids thinking about it. They are going to be in this environment for the rest of their lives. So teaching them whatever safety means and scaffolding it, like you mentioned, I think probably is the best bet.
spk_0: 8:00
Yeah, I always kind of use the analogy of sugar if you never let me have any. I always wondered what it tastes like. But if you give me a little bit and say, You know what, This is bad for this or that. It's just like anything in moderation. And I do think right now, moderation. I know you and I are like, zoomed out and you know, again, yesterday I spent 17 hours in a different device, whether it was owned or computer, and it's like, all right, I love technology, but I'm not sure that's safe for even me as an adult, so I think you're right, limiting screen time, period. Whether it's technology for school, of the TV, parental controls, there's parental controls and everything from this cell phone. And when kids say, Well, you know, none of my friends have them until listen, don't listen yet. At the same time, I think my best advice came from my own son from his life coach, who kept saying, But there's a fine line of letting your kid grow up. And I'll tell you the funniest thing ever is my son wanted to be on Facebook and we gave him an age. We set a 12. You can have Facebook at 11 in 300 days. Not only did he get a Facebook, but guess it re friended first. He's here, like, if you could try to be sneaky, don't be easy. And I was like, and you're not supposed to have a Facebook is like I know, but I'm close. So again, it's one of those examples of yes, trusting but also trusting that there you're gonna be a part of that technology. Use, I think, is the way to be the safest possible.
spk_1: 9:24
Yeah, I think you're right.
spk_0: 9:26
All right, well, we look forward to further questions and follow us on Twitter @accesspractical