The transition from primary to secondary school is a stressful period for autistic individuals. However, less is known about parental experiences of the school transition, and its impact on the family. This study explored mothers' perspectives on the psychological impact of the transition to secondary school for their autistic children and their…

Whilst attendance in mainstream school helps encourage inclusivity, these environments are recognised as being particularly challenging for young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The COVID-19 pandemic brought a novel transition as young people moved from school to home-learning. This study compared the experiences of parents of…

From its origins within the deprived schools of inner London in the late 1960s, nurture group practice has evolved organically. Based on instinctive, clinically observed and evidence-based principles, nurture groups continue to offer a viable educational response in providing for the fundamental attachment needs of vulnerable children in schools.…

This study investigates from their perspectives, the educational experiences of twelve autistic young people (aged 11-17 years) for whom mainstream was, or is, challenging. This paper focuses on one theme from this study and presents how these young people experience, define and conceptualise inclusion. A flexible qualitative participatory…

This study explored the secondary school transition experiences of children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Participants were recruited from a National Health Service (NHS) specialist cleft service covering a large…

The pandemic profoundly disrupted university students' lives. Many students have parenting and/or caring responsibilities and work part-time jobs. Undergraduate cohorts today are extremely diverse, comprised of people from a wide range of social, ethnic, economical and cultural backgrounds. Research has highlighted the different ways the pandemic…

Since the advent of the ideology of inclusion, several concerns have been raised worldwide regarding the effectiveness of its implementation. In the UK, governmental evidence suggests that maintaining pupils with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) within mainstream school settings, is one of the greatest challenges (DfE, 2018).…

Since the initial closure of schools to most children on 20th March 2020, mainstream education has been disrupted as a result of COVID-19. When most pupils returned to school in March 2021, they regained some of their usual routines, but schooling was far from 'back to normal'. Building on the National Foundation for Educational Research's…

Autistic people are at high risk of dropping out of university, but little research has examined this issue. Fourteen autistic people participated in semi-structured interviews examining their experiences at university and the reasons they had dropped out. Thematic analysis identified patterns in participants' responses. Themes were categorised as…

School staff have an important role to play in identifying and assisting pupils who require additional support to regularly attend school, but their beliefs about risk factors might influence their decisions regarding intervention. This qualitative study investigated educational practitioners' beliefs about risk factors for attendance problems.…

The purpose of this literature review was to analyze and synthesize the most current research about the experiences of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without co-occurring intellectual disability (ID). Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 empirical research studies from 2009-2019 were selected for review including…

Although evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been identified in recent systematic literature reviews, the extent to which the practice of educational psychologists (EPs) in the UK and Ireland is informed by these is unknown. This study presents the results of a questionnaire that surveyed 146 EP…

Introduction: The unique challenges to learning and participation in education associated with visual impairment are well documented in the literature, as is the importance of addressing these challenges through ensuring practitioners who support them are equipped with appropriate knowledge, understanding, and skills. We use a bioecological…

This small-scale study investigates the perspectives of parents whose children have special educational needs/disabilities and who have elected to withdraw their children from the state-maintained education system in England and educate them at home. The study draws on data gathered from seven parents and their perspectives of home education…

This is Universities UK's (UUK's) second briefing on responding to domestic violence and technology mediated abuse in the higher education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Universities should already have, or be in the process of developing, policies and practices to support their staff and students experiencing domestic and…