How do we create <scp>ASD</scp>‐friendly schools? A dilemma of placement

Goodall, Craig

doi:10.1111/1467-9604.12104

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The former challenges reported herein by the young autistic people and their parents are deeply worrying. Failure to include children in school is likely to have serious consequences on children and young people’s behaviour and psychological wellbeing (Goodall, 2015), as clearly attested by our participants. Both parents and young people spoke of their or their children’s increasing anxiety, depression and even suicidal ideation, and the substantial impact their children’s pervious educational experiences had on parental mental health and family life, consistent with reports of school exclusion of children with other SEND (Parker, Paget, Ford, & Gwernan-Jones, 2016; Pirrie et al., 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Excluded from school: Autistic students’ experiences of school exclusion and subsequent re-integration into school

Brede

Remington

Kenny

et al. 2017

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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Background and aims: All children have the right to receive an education and to be included in school. Yet young people on the autism spectrum, who are already vulnerable to poor health and social outcomes, are at increased risk of school exclusion. The current study sought to understand the key factors surrounding the school exclusion experiences of a group of autistic students with particularly complex needs, and their subsequent reintegration into education. Method: We interviewed nine intellectually able students (eight male, one female; M age ¼ 13.3 years), all with a diagnosis of autism and the majority with a history of demand avoidant behaviour. We also interviewed their parents and teaching staff about the students' past and current school experiences. All students were currently being educated within an 'Inclusive Learning Hub', specially designed to re-integrate excluded, autistic students back into school, which was situated within a larger autism special school. Results: Young people and their parents gave overwhelmingly negative accounts of the students' previous school experiences. Children's perceived unmet needs, as well as inappropriate approaches by previous school staff in dealing with children's difficulties, were felt to cause decline in children's mental health and behaviour and, ultimately, led to their exclusion from school. Four key factors for successful reintegration into school were identified, including (i) making substantial adjustments to the physical environment, (ii) promoting strong staff-student relationships, (iii) understanding students' specific needs, and (iv) targeted efforts towards improving students' wellbeing. Conclusion: The culmination-and escalation-of challenges students experienced in the students' previous placements could suggest that the educational journey to exclusion from school is an inevitable consequence for at least some autistic children, including those with particularly complex behaviour, as sampled here. Yet, our study encouragingly showed that this was not necessarily the case. All the young people we spoke to reported being happy, safe and secure in their current placement, and re-engaged with school life. Outstanding issues remain, however, with regard to children's reportedly slow academic progress and difficulties generalising the positive behaviour shown in school across home and community contexts. Implications: More remains to be done to ensure that autistic children and young people's progress at school is also mirrored in other settings. Future research also needs to develop more preventative approaches to avoid exclusion from school, including efforts towards improving education professionals' knowledge and awareness of autism, and effective ways of responding to these students' needs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Excluded from school: Autistic students’ experiences of school exclusion and subsequent re-integration into school

Brede

Remington

Kenny

et al. 2017

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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“…They also discussed the stress, anxiety, dread and despair they felt before, during and after school. Failure to support young people is likely to have consequences for their behaviour and psychological wellbeing (Goodall, 2015), as attested by participants in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

‘I felt closed in and like I couldn’t breathe’: A qualitative study exploring the mainstream educational experiences of autistic young people

Goodall

2018

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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Background and aim: More autistic young people are being educated in mainstream schools. While existing research suggests that the outcomes of mainstream inclusion are mixed for autistic young people, few studies have examined their views and experiences directly. This article discusses the educational experiences of 12 autistic young people (aged 11-17 years) from their perspectives and how education could be improved to better support the others with autism. Methods: A flexible qualitative participatory approach was used which incorporated a range of methods, including individual semi-structured interviews, diamond ranking activities and draw-and-tell activities. A Children's Research Advisory Group (CRAG) advised on the methods used and matters to be explored. Results: The young people offered insights into how education has been for them in mainstream school, mostly negative, but with islets of positive experience. Several described themselves as being socially, emotionally and physically isolated from peers, with loneliness and bullying experienced by some. Participants felt unsupported and misunderstood by teachers within a social and sensory environment that was antithetical to their needs. Some spoke of the dread they felt before and during school and the negative impact their experiences in mainstream has had on their wellbeing. Many participants suggested simple strategies and curriculum adaptations that they felt would have helped make their time at mainstream more successful. These include having more breaks, smaller class sizes, less homework, instructions broken down, safe places to use when anxious and teachers who listen to their concerns and take account of their needs. In short they want to be understood, supported and included. Conclusions: There exists scope to better support autistic young people in mainstream education, as evidenced by the literature and the participants in this paper. The participants demonstrate that mainstream is not working for all and that changes, such as smaller class sizes, flexible pedagogy and understanding could improve education for autistic learners. Implications: Autistic young people can and should be central to the discussion on school improvement. They also show that being academically able for mainstream school should not be the only aspect when deciding on the suitability of mainstream school for meeting their needs. The young person's social and emotional wellbeing must be considered to ensure they can flourish, and not flounder.

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“…A further key difficulty relates to the physical environment, and the design of the mainstream school can be an important facilitator or barrier to a truly inclusive environment (Bond and Hebron 2016; McAllister and Maguire 2012). Coping with the sensory demands of a busy environment and frequent transitions (Banda et al 2009) can increase anxiety (Goodhall 2015), leading to pupils becoming distanced from the learning process (McAllister and Maguire, 2012), and can contribute to academic underachievement compared to TD students (Asburner, Ziviani and Rodger 2010).…”

Section: Autism and Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%