Lessons from lockdown: Autistic students, parents and mainstream schools

Vincent, Carol; Oliver, Caroline; Pavlopoulou, Georgia

doi:10.1002/berj.3854

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 53 publications

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“…Similar problems were raised in recent studies from the United Kingdom tapping parents’ experiences during the pandemic. Many families experienced a continuation of a stressful situation ( Vincent et al, 2023 ). For some families, however, the level of stress decreased as COVID-19 raised the awareness of the strains met by families where a child is absent from school ( Lissack & Boyle, 2022 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

School absenteeism in autistic children and adolescents: A scoping review

Nordin,

Palmgren,

Lindbladh

et al. 2023

Autism

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School absenteeism is a major societal problem, with a range of potential adverse long-term consequences. This scoping review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the research on school absenteeism in autistic children and adolescents, expose important gaps in the literature, and explore possibilities for future systematic reviews. Five relevant databases were searched systematically from inception to June 2023, yielding a total of 46 eligible reports from 42 separate studies. All studies were conducted in high-income countries, and most were published in the last decade. Three major themes emerged: occurrence, contextual factors, and interventions. The results of large-scale population-based studies clearly suggested that autistic children and adolescents were absent from school more often than their non-autistic peers, which partly was attributable to co-occurring conditions. Bullying also emerged as a potential risk factor. Only a few preliminary studies were available on targeted interventions, emphasizing the need for more robust studies. More research is also needed on the mechanisms leading to and maintaining school absenteeism in this group of learners. Overall, the diversity of research questions, methods, and definitions used in this body of research suggests that systematic reviews with narrow focus on a few key questions may still be premature. Lay abstract Autistic children and teenagers are, on average, absent from school more than their peers. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the research on absence from school in autistic learners in primary and secondary school, to help guide future research. We sifted through 4632 reports and found 42 studies with a focus on school absence and autism. We looked at how, when, and where the studies were conducted. We also summarized the results and outlined how absence was measured in the studies. Absence from school may lead to problems later in life, like incomplete education and unemployment. It is therefore important to know how common this problem is among autistic learners, what the reasons may be, and what type of support they need. The studies were from high-income countries and were mainly published in the last 10 years. Studies based on school registers from the United States and the United Kingdom clearly showed that children and teenagers with autism had higher risk of school absence than those without autism. Absence was often linked to problems with mental health or additional neurodevelopmental conditions. Several studies also showed that absence in autistic children and adolescents was related to problems in school, like bullying or lack of knowledge about autism. Support programs were only evaluated in a few studies with a small number of study participants. We conclude that more research is needed to better understand why autistic learners are absent and what they need to thrive in school.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

School absenteeism in autistic children and adolescents: A scoping review

Nordin,

Palmgren,

Lindbladh

et al. 2023

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Listening to young children with disabilities: Experiences of quality in mainstream primary education

Gulliver

2024

British Educational Res J

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All children should have access to quality education through a child‐centred pedagogy. An inclusive, child‐centred pedagogy uses a strength‐based view of children that recognises each child as unique and competent, providing children with multiple opportunities to explore and learn at their own pace. However, competing tensions in mainstream primary education in England can impact this through a performative school culture that focusses on progress and attainment rather than the successful inclusion of all children including those with disabilities. This adult‐centric view of education quality does not consider children's experiences of what happens in mainstream primary education, through their perspectives. The research described here uses methodology that actively listens to young children with developmental disabilities themselves to understand what is important and valuable to them. Four case studies present children's experience of education in different English primary schools, using a range of photography activities, guided tours and interviews. Methods illicit rich detail and novel understandings of experiences from the views of young children with developmental disabilities, whose voices have tended to be excluded from research. The study demonstrates ways in which young children can develop self‐advocacy through opportunities to share their voice and understanding of education. Findings reveal the significance of children's involvement in the different spaces and objects associated with experiencing mainstream education, and the different types of pedagogy found in education that may or may not offer opportunities for self‐advocacy for children with developmental disabilities.

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