Qualitative Investigation of School-Related Issues Affecting Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Co-occurring Anxiety and/or Depression

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of adolescents and young adults (16 to 21 years old) diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and co-occurring depression and/or anxiety disorders. The study was conducted with 9 parents of individuals with ASD and 4 individuals diagnosed with ASD and co-occurring anxiety and/or depression. The study used openended, online and face-to-face interviews and yielded rich data associated with a number of broad categories. This paper focuses on associated school-related issues; medical and initial diagnosis and community services. The participants provided valuable information about navigating school environments, programming needs, prevention of victimization, and mental health issues in individuals with ASD. The results suggest the need for mindful planning and programming for individuals diagnosed with ASD, as well as the need for awareness of the characteristics and programming associated with autism.

Square pegs in round holes: The mainstream schooling experiences of students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and their parents

“…Parents have also reported that their children experienced reduced self-esteem and social skills , mental health difficulties Cappadocia et al, 2012;Penney, 2013), and suicidal feelings and self-harming behaviour . These findings are concerning as quantitative studies of the mental health of young people with ASD indicate that young people with ASD already experience a significantly greater incidence of mental health difficulties than their typically developing peers (Gurney, McPheeters, & Davis, 2006;Hebron & Humphrey, 2012;Kim Szatmari, Bryson, Streiner & Wilson, 2000) and students with other special needs (Hebron & Humphrey, 2012).…”

“…The body of research on students with ASD in mainstream schools is diverse in terms of country of origin, the focus and the methodologies used. The majority of the literature originated from northern Europe, particularly the United Kingdom (Barnard et al, 2000;Batten et al, 2006;Connor, 2000;Parsons, Lewis & Ellins, 2009;Reid, 2011;Renty & Roeyers, 2006;Stewart, 2012;Tissot & Evans, 2006;Tobias, 2009;Waddington & Reed, 2006;Watson, 2009;Whitaker, 2007;Wittemeyer et al, 2011) Kasari et al, 1999;Scuitto, Richwine, Mentrikoski & Niedzwiecki, 2012;Stoner et al, 2005;Stoner & Angell, 2006), Canada (Brewin et al, 2008;Penney, 2013;Starr et al, 2001;Starr et al, 2006;Starr & Foy, 2010), Australia (Carrington & Graham, 2001;Hay & Winn, 2005;Lilley, 2012;McDonald, 2010;Saggers et al, 2011), a single study in Singapore (Poon et al, 2012), and Sweden (Falkmer et al, 2012).…”

“…Furthermore, research indicates that students with ASD experience bullying throughout their mainstream schooling and report higher levels of bullying compared with students with other special needs and typically developing students Wainscot, Naylor, Sutcliffe, Tantam & Williams, 2008) and lower levels of social support . Students have experienced serious, negative impacts as a result of bullying including: disruptions to educational progress Reid & Batten, 2006), reduced self-esteem and social skills , mental health difficulties Cappadocia, Weiss & Pepler, 2012;Hebron & Humphrey, 2012;Penney, 2013;Zablotsky, Bradshaw, Anderson & Law, 2013), and suicidal feelings and self-harming behaviour .…”

“…Semi-structured interviews have also been used in a number of studies (Carrington & Graham, 2001;Connor, 2000;Brewin et al, 2008;Jindal-Snape et al, 2005;Lilley, 2012;McDonald, 2010;Penney, 2013;Saggers et al, 2011;Scuitto et al, 2012). Focus groups have been used in several studies (Hay & Winn, 2005;Tobias, 2009;Waddington & Reed, 2006) and observations were also used in two studies (Ochs et al, 2001;.…”

“…A numbers of studies have focused on the perceptions and experiences of students with ASD and/or their parents in mainstream schools related to their 'inclusion' Reid, 2011;Hay & Winn, 2005), 'school experiences' (Poon et al, 2012), 'quality of life' (Brewin et al, 2008), 'effective education' (JindalSnape et al, 2005), 'school-related issues' (Penney, 2013) and 'school-related challenges ' (Scuitto et al, 2012). Only three papers have focused specifically on the participation of students with ASD in mainstream schools (Falkmer et al, 2012;Humphrey & Lewis, 2008a;Saggers et al, 2011).…”