Building Up Mask Tolerance With My Autistic Son: 4 Tips To Help Teach Your Child How To Wear A Mask

Hi Friends!

Today I'm sharing a few tips on building up mask tolerance with my two year old autistic son. The method I used to teach him goes hand in hand with how his ABA therapists introduce new skills and concepts. All behavior training happens at his child size table along with his reinforcement of choice- gold fish crackers!

I first showed him the mask and introduced it to him saying " This is a mask. We wear a mask outside to protect us from germs" and we spent some time looking at and chatting about all the different features a mask has and how it looks. After a few minutes with gold fish flowing abundantly I told him I was going to put the mask elastic over his ear and I was looking for a calm body and quiet hands. As soon as I put it on him he was NOT into it at all! He of course snatched it right off, haha! But after a while he began to understand that wearing the mask gave him access to his snack and he sat for longer and longer awaiting his goldfish treat. He uses PECS during his ABA therapy sessions and I had his PECS board present so he can easily ask for a break or a different form of reinforcement if he chose. He asked for three breaks and right before the end of his session with me he asked for his tablet in stead of goldfish. I think that having this PECS present helped him feel more in control about how much he wanted to do and put him at ease. The last thing I wanted was to traumatize him from wearing a mask; so if he only wanted to do 5-10 minutes of mask practice I was ok with that!

I started with one elastic over his ear and then graduated to both elastics looped over each ear. In the beginning we counted to five seconds for him to have his mask on, by then end he was wearing his mask for around a minute and a half! He pulled the mask over his nose by himself and sat there patently while I counted. I was completely shocked he felt comfortable doing that on his own terms! Below are some tips that I have if you'd to like to work on this skill with your child. I am not a licensed BCBA and in no way am saying this method is how you can teach your child how to wear a mask- I'm just sharing what worked for Isaiah!

1. Use a reinforcer! For Isaiah it was goldfish and his tablet, but for your child it may look like stickers or skittles. Use a highly favorited item to help motivate your child to learn!

2. Take Baby Steps: Break up mask wearing in tiny steps, graduate only if they mastered the first step and don't rush the process!

3. Introduce the mask in a fun way: Get fun prints or their favorite character to help them feel more comfortable.

4. Size Up: This is just for kiddos who may be working through sensory issues. My son does not like anything close to his face so using a bigger mask created some space and the fabric was more baggy and not to tight around his nose! Such a game changer! I just made a loose knot in the elastic so it wouldn't flop down on him, it worked beautifully!

I'm hoping to have our first outing outside with him wearing a mask maybe for a quick trip to Target or the grocery store sometime soon! I hope this was helpful!