A Scoping Review of School-Based Strategies for Addressing Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Prediction in Autistic Pupils

Abstract

In a typical school day, young people need to do many tasks which rely on the ability to predict. Since prediction underpins cognitive and social skills, difficulties with prediction lead to multiple challenges to learning. In this review, we consider the evidence that autistic people often have difficulty making predictions about other people’s behaviour, or understanding what they are required to do, contributing to high rates of anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty. The focus of the review is to consider what we already know about effective strategies used by schools to support learning and social inclusion and to consider how we might build on these approaches. We propose a number of so far unexplored ideas with the potential to build predictive skills and which require evaluation.

Socio-Pedagogical Strategies in Occupational Therapy for Children with Autism and Learning Difficulties

“…Establishing a structured and predictable environment is essential for people with autism, as it helps reduce sensory overload and anxiety while promoting focus and attention. As Emerson (2023) said in his research, consistent routines, clear expectations, and well-defined transitions create a supportive learning environment conducive to learning and engagement.…”

Intolerance of uncertainty and negative emotions among high school art students during COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation analysis

“…The novelty of this study lies in the fact that, to our knowledge, it is the first to explore the mediating and moderating roles of PsyCap and family functioning on the correlation between IU and negative emotions. Second, recent studies on IU have focused on a variety of groups and situations, such as the effect of IU among preservice teachers ( 26 ), autistic pupils ( 27 ), and breast cancer patients ( 28 ). To our knowledge, no study has explored the association between IU and negative emotions of high school art students preparing for entrance examination in the context of COVID-19, given its novelty.…”

Academic Skills in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The lack of absence or recognition of the peculiarities of the autistic condition is the origin of problematic behaviour in most cases [32]. An environment not adapted to the atypical characteristics of the condition, such as the social-communicative and interaction deficit, anxiety for the lack of order and predictability in school [33], and the very intense sensory stimuli, such as high noise levels in the classroom [34] can have a highly negative impact on the acquisition of school skills and adaptation [35]. Furthermore, the different environments of learning, such as mainstream school settings or special education classrooms, may place a lesser or higher emphasis on cognitive, social, and academic skills with contrasting results, particularly for students with ASD with lower IQ [23,[36][37][38].…”