local authority, young people aged 13-19 with experience of local authority care were asked to provide their views of what makes a difference to them. As Jackie Dearden makes clear in this article, young people consistently reported on themes collated from previous research into resilience and identified factors which were most and least helpful. The compelling personal accounts draw attention to what services could do to increase protective factors which include interest of carers, access to facilities, taking bullying seriously, a clear sense of a positive future and adults who listen. Additionally, positive change occurred most often after significant changes in circumstances, especially transition phases, providing turning points for some young people. Such personal stories present a powerful perspective that would be hard for service providers to ignore. This raises the question of how local authorities are routinely consulting with vulnerable young people.

A 10-year-old boy with autism was part of an evaluation of an innovative intervention focused on improving communication skills. His school was using the minimal speech approach (Potter and Whittaker, 2001) with all children in accordance with government guidance. The pupil’s receptive language had not been formally assessed due to his lack of cooperation in tests and his perceived low ability. Informal assessment indicated that the pupil had restricted receptive language and school targets included understanding of basic verbs. Researchers adopted the use of ‘full’ language and stimuli including written words to engage the child and to investigate motivation and competence. Post intervention the boy demonstrated better understanding of complex language and literacy skills than previously expected. Blanket adoption of the minimal speech approach and the low expectations of staff may lead to children’s abilities being underestimated.

This article describes the setting up and running of a peer-mentoring scheme. Year10 (Y10) mentors from a large city comprehensive school worked with Year 6 (Y6) students in four of its feeder primary schools. This article aims to present one model of mentoring between schools, describing the process and outcomes for both mentors and mentees, and also to promote reflection and discussion about the role of peer support particularly in relation to transition between primary and secondary schools.

This longitudinal case study of a 10-year-old girl with autism and severe communication impairment measures the impact of the MORE (Means, Opportunities, Reasons and Expectations) approach to enhancing engagement and communication. Through detailed observation of video data over a period of 28 months, engagement behaviours including interaction with adults and following adult directions increased, while resistant behaviours such as kicking, hitting and pushing adults away decreased. Fluctuation between different 'states' demonstrated that the frequency and duration of engagement was influenced by the MORE approach and an emphasis on developing intrinsic motivation. In order to enable further efficacy research, core features of the intervention and the changes in engagement over time are described.Key words: autism, case study, engagement, intrinsic motivation IntroductionChildren with a wide range of disabilities tend to show reduced levels of engagement (Kemp et al., 2013;Kim & Mahoney, 2004), which inevitably impacts on their learning. Furthermore, children with autism are considered to have the lowest levels of engagement in terms of frequency and duration (Kemp et al., 2013;Simpson et al., 2013): it has been argued that the tendency of children with © 2016 NASEN DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12137 autism to engage more with objects than people can limit learning opportunities (Adamson et al., 2010). Additionally engagement can be reduced by maladaptive behaviours (Fulton et al., 2014), which tend to persist and become an embedded part of the child's repertoire.This article describes the ways in which engagement was fostered in a 10-yearold girl who was highly resistant to any adult intervention. The MORE (Means, Opportunities, Reasons and Expectations) approach was adopted to build intrinsic motivation to cooperate with adults as a foundation for learning. EngagementEngagement is the link between the person and their action (Kemp et al., 2013) and can determine a person's achievement and school behaviour . Students who are behaviourally engaged show attention, effort and persistence (Fredricks et al., 2004). In an education context, emotional engagement refers to the ways in which students relate to staff and peers and their willingness to participate in learning activities . Both positive and negative reactions to the learning setting are part of emotional engagement; students who are positively engaged are interested in learning and see its value. Emotional engagement therefore has a strong link to motivation and the terms are used interchangeably; while Appleton et al. (2006) distinguish between engagement and motivation, the latter typically relating to 'why' a person engages.Cognitive engagement includes investing in the process of learning, putting effort into studies and working towards mastery (Fredricks et al., 2004). It is reportedly increased by challenge (Jensen, 2005) and is characterised by coping with failure and persisting despite setbacks.These aspects of engagement (behavioural, emotional and cogn...

Motor impairment in individuals with autism potentially impacts on their development in all spheres. This paper is particularly concerned with people with severe communication impairments suggesting that recognition of the impact of motor impairments on their lives could lead to more effective interventions being developed. One such intervention is the MORE (Means, Opportunities, Reasons, and Expectations) model, founded on the “least dangerous assumption,” that is assuming competence until otherwise established through long-term observation and assessment. Components of the model include recognizing the importance of having high expectations and linking this to the way people are spoken to; timing within an intervention and over long periods; the importance of eye-hand coordination and teaching independent pointing skills. It is suggested that literacy should be offered as an early step which could significantly enhance communication.