Choosing a secondary school for young people on the autism spectrum: a multi-informant study

McNerney, Catherine; Hill, Vivian; Pellicano, Liz

doi:10.1080/13603116.2015.1037869

Cited by 32 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…These families reported 'fighting' with the local educational authority about the best place to educate their autistic child, resulting in both delays in the identification and naming of a suitable school and considerable anxiety for both the child and their family. The issues raised by these parents are not new (see also Connolly & Gersch, 2016;McNerney et al, 2015;Tissot, 2011), but nevertheless reflect system-level factors that, at least for the children studied herein, appear to have a substantial impact on children's adjustment to their new school, particularly for those entering specialist provision. Importantly, teachers in our study noted that the stress and adversarial nature of the transition process for some children, and the anxiety this caused the family, exacerbated the children's difficulties adjusting to their new school.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The primary-to-secondary school transition for children on the autism spectrum: A multi-informant mixed-methods study

Makin

Hill

Pellicano

2017

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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126

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Background and aims: Children diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition are known anecdotally to be especially vulnerable during the transition to secondary school. Yet, very little is known about the child-, school-and system-level factors that can potentially make changing schools particularly difficult for these children. Here, we report on a mixedmethod study, which examined the factors that influence a successful school transition for autistic children in one local education authority in England. Methods: Fifteen children were seen twice in the space of four months -once during the final term of their mainstream primary school and again during the first term of secondary school. Parents and teachers were also interviewed at both time points. Results: Overall, our participants reported negative experiences of their transition to secondary school -regardless of the type of secondary provision (mainstream or specialist) to which they transferred. None of the child-level factors measured during the pre-transition phase, including verbal ability, autistic symptomatology, sensory responsiveness and anxiety, predicted children's transition success four months later. Rather, transition success appeared to be predominantly related to several school-and system-level factors, including tensions over school choice, delays in placement decisions, lack of primary preparation and communication between schools. Identity-related issues were also a key concern for many children, which appeared to have a particularly negative influence on adjustment to their new school. Conclusions: We identified predominantly negative experiences of primary-to-secondary transition for the autistic children sampled here, which appeared to be accounted for largely by school-and system-level factors. Implications: Applying interventions that are designed to ease the transition to secondary school by modifying the school environment before, during and after transition to improve the fit between the autistic child and their educational environment should go some way in tackling school-related barriers to a successful transition for these children. System-level changes in the way that local authorities manage the transition process may also improve children and families' experiences.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The primary-to-secondary school transition for children on the autism spectrum: A multi-informant mixed-methods study

Makin

Hill

Pellicano

2017

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

Self Cite

126

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“…In contrast, there are no specialist schools for children with WS and even SEN staff and schools have little understanding of WS (Van Herwegen, Ashworth, & Palikara, ). However, it is possible that parents of children with ASD find choosing the right school (specialist or mainstream) or specific aspects of education provision particular stressful (see McNerney, Hill, & Pellicano, for a discussion). It should be pointed though that the effect of school provision on educational experience of children and families with WS has not been explored yet in any detail (see Palikara, Ashworth, & Van Herwegen, for discussion).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing parental stress of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: The case of Williams syndrome, Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders

Ashworth

Palikara

Herwegen

2019

Research Intellect Disabil

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Background Although parental stress is higher for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs), it is unclear how this stress compares to more common NDs. The current study compared stress in parents of children with Williams syndrome (WS), Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The impact of individual and contextual factors was also explored. Method Parents of children with WS (n = 107), DS (n = 79) and ASD (n = 79) completed a background questionnaire, a parental stress questionnaire and a satisfaction with life questionnaire. Results Although all groups displayed similar levels of parental stress, the factors that influenced this stress differed between the groups. There were also differences for life satisfaction and relationships between parental stress and individual and contextual factors. Conclusions Although parents of children with NDs are not at an increased risk of parental stress, the results suggest that interventions should be syndrome‐specific.

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“…Parents of students with ASD were also dissatisfied with limited available information, which would guide them in the process of choosing an appropriate high school for their child (McNerney, Hill, and Pellicano 2015). Other issues raised by parents included teaching staff not being adequately prepared to provide effective support in schooling transitions of students with disabilities (Stoner et al 2007;Dillon and Underwood 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students with autism transitioning from primary to secondary schools: parents’ perspectives and experiences

Tso

Strnadová

2016

International Journal of Inclusive Education

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The transition from primary to high school can be a challenging process for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). During this time, researchbased practices like home-school collaboration are crucial in facilitating a smoother transition. However, existing research indicates that the transition from primary to high school is a period of anxiety and reduced support for students with ASD and their families. This article describes the experiences of parents of students with ASD in regard to this transition and home-school collaboration. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 parents of children with ASD who attended mainstream government high schools in metropolitan Sydney. Through content analysis, parents were found to have received varying levels of transition support. Their experiences of home-school collaboration were, however, generally positive. Overall, it is recommended that parents' knowledge of their children with ASD should be prioritised and utilised in transition planning. Findings also suggest that a greater implementation of practices including mandated transition planning and home-school collaboration in schools would contribute to more authentic inclusion of students with ASD. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Choosing a secondary school for young people on the autism spectrum: a multi-informant study

Cited by 32 publications

References 36 publications

The primary-to-secondary school transition for children on the autism spectrum: A multi-informant mixed-methods study

The primary-to-secondary school transition for children on the autism spectrum: A multi-informant mixed-methods study

Comparing parental stress of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: The case of Williams syndrome, Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders

Students with autism transitioning from primary to secondary schools: parents’ perspectives and experiences

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