Bodily health and bodily integrity capabilities of students with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the views of school staff about the bodily health and bodily integrity capabilities of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These capabilities refer to being healthy and moving freely from place to place. Semi‐structured interviews with 12 school staff (teaching and non‐teaching staff) in Tehran, Iran, were carried out and thematically analyzed. ‘Nutritional education’ and ‘sexual health education’ emerged as two major themes. The findings revealed that children with ASD struggle to maintain excellent physical health and bodily integrity. The findings underscore the need for having an interprofessional approach to develop students' bodily health and bodily integrity capabilities. Although it is critical to improve these capabilities, the existing curriculum, time management and workload priorities may conflict with this goal.