Critical thinking is one of the most important skills a child needs when going online. Use this guide to support your child with additional needs to develop this skill for a safer online experience.
Some conditions can make critical thinking a challenge for children. If your child often acts impulsively, finds social cues challenging or finds it tough to process information, thinking critically before acting can be difficult.
A child with additional needs might need support with:
Understanding what critical thinking means;
Pausing before taking action;
Recognising that friends and loved ones can do or say harmful things;
Viewing people and content online as real and reactive.
Developing fact-checking habits
Instead of encouraging ‘critical thinking’, develop a process for fact-checking. This can help your child complete an action without needing to rely on their understanding of content.
Explore the below suggestions to find strategies that work best for your family.
Make a rule that whenever your child encounters new information, they need to find 2 more sources which support that information. They must do this before believing or sharing new information.
If someone contacts your child, claiming to be someone they know, investigator questions can help weed out the imposters.
Think about questions which a stranger wouldn’t know. For example, if someone is claiming to be a classmate, your child could ask ‘what class do we have first thing tomorrow?’ Wrong answers or changed subjects tell your child to stop communication or ask for your help.
Write down signs that content or people might not be fully trustworthy. This can include content where words are in ALL CAPS like ‘SHOCKING!’ Another red flag could be influencers who bring out big emotions like anger or fear.
Display your list somewhere obvious as a reminder during screen time.
Whatever strategies you introduce to your child, remember to check-in regularly to see how they’re getting on. It can be difficult to stick with a new habit or way of browsing, so regular reminders and discussions can help.
Identifying risky content and people
Some children with additional needs find assessing risk online fairly difficult. After all, people can mean more than they say and convincing content can be scams in disguise.
Explore examples below that can help your child develop their understanding of risk and harm online. Choose a strategy that works best for their development and needs.
Browse the internet or think up examples of facts and opinions. Create a list of all examples and get your child to decide which are facts and which are opinions.
Talk about their answers and why they made their choice. Clear up any incorrect assumptions. Remind them that facts can be proven by science, maths or historical accounts. Opinions are what people think about facts.
On the surface of iceberg models, the information is positive. But as we think beneath the surface and look for negatives, we start to see potential harm. Then, if we think about ‘why’ someone might want to share content with those negatives, we start to understand how risky content can be.
Using an iceberg visual like the one in this lesson plan can help.
With your child, write down what information is okay for someone to ask for. This could include their hobbies, what games they like or whether they have any pets.
Somewhere separate, write down information that is not okay for someone to ask for. This could include asking for naked or partially naked pictures and asking where they go to school.
If someone asks your child something on the ‘not okay’ list, they need to stop talking to them and tell you.
Test out different strategies to help your child develop their critical thinking skills. You do not need to try every above suggestion out at the same time, but do consider trying each one out at a different time.
Encouraging stops and pauses
Some children with additional needs might find ‘thinking before acting’ a challenge. So, this is a skill that needs to be developed, repeated and reinforced as your child engages with their online space.
The following tips can help them develop this skill.
Decide on a list of actions that your child must wait and check on. Examples include a stranger contacting them, someone sharing a strange link or someone sending an image.
If your child comes across the relevant scenario, they need to check with you. Consider displaying these ‘wait and check’ actions somewhere visible to remind them.
If your child feels overwhelmed, confused, anxious or just unable to think clearly, reinforce habits of physically distancing themselves. This could look like setting a device down and going for a walk.
This can also work if you observe your child becoming more agitated or impulsive. Physical transitions can prevent acting without thinking carefully.
Together, create a flow chart of actions they can take when it comes to assessing information to decide if it’s safe or risky to believe and share. Steps could include finding 2 new sources, exploring what other people say and asking you.
Display this where your child frequently uses their device.
Whatever habit you work on building, remember that it probably won’t be easy. Expect pushback or meltdowns as new habits form. Remaining consistent and supportive over however much time your child needs can make it easier for them as they grow and become more independent.
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