Abstract—This is a conceptual paper on the review of
literature related to adolescents with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), online learning, and online synchronous and
asynchronous communication for the use of future studies. It
recognizes that social communication is essential in developing
human relationships – and is needed for people with ASD to
gain independence and acceptance into society, yet represents
one of their most significant impairments, thus affecting the
learning of other life skills. Online synchronous and
asynchronous communication, along with technological
advancement and modern trends, including various new online
communication platforms (like Facebook and Discord) may
offer alternative ways to support the learning experiences of
people with ASD. However, there appears to be gaps in our
understanding of how online communication benefits or
supports those with ASD in a learning context, despite people
with ASD having shown improved interest and motivation in
interacting with one another in gaming and dating platforms.
As adolescents with ASD often use online communication but
lack skills that negatively affect their learning experience, this
conceptual paper intends to provide new insights by compiling
and discussing the review of past literatures and theories in
hopes of supporting them in future. The discussions in this
research paper are meant to supplement the literature of
academics as reference for their research and attempts to
extend the findings of past research studies. It also intends to
extend the theory of social constructivist learning and apply it
to the context of learning through online synchronous and
asynchronous communication among adolescents with ASD.
Hence, the creation of a new conceptual framework designed
for reference in future studies. With the rising trend of online
and hybrid learning modalities, continued research on the use
of online communication, especially in an academic setting,
could better support people with ASD and strengthen their
communication abilities to improve their social connection and
learning ability as the flexibility of the learning environment
offered by online and hybrid learning modalities may lead to
more powerful social connections while enhancing their
learning.
Index Terms—Adolescents, Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD), online learning, online synchronous and asynchronous
communication.
Aevent Koh Kian Seng, Jasmine Anak Jain, and Logendra Stanley
Ponniah are with the Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management,
Taylor’s University, Malaysia (e-mail: aeventkoh@gmail.com,
jasmine.jain@taylors.edu.my, logendrastanley.ponniah@taylors.edu.my).
Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan is with the Faculty of Psychology and
Social Sciences, University of Cyberjaya, Malaysia (e-mail:
anasuya@cyberjaya.edu.my).
Cite: Aevent Koh Kian Seng, Jasmine Anak Jain, Logendra Stanley Ponniah, and Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan, "Learning through Online Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication among Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Conceptual Discourse," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 12, no. 12, pp. 1407-1416, 2022.
Copyright © 2022 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).