Parental Perspectives of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Transitioning From Primary to Secondary School in the United Kingdom

Transferring from mainstream primary to secondary school can be especially problematic for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Two groups of parents (nine pretransition and six posttransition parents) contributed to this 15-month-long study. Perceptions of the pretransition group were capture...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inFocus on autism and other developmental disabilities Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 111 - 121
Main Authors Dillon, Gayle Victoria, Underwood, Jean D. M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2012
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Autism
Elementary Schools
Focus Groups
Foreign Countries
Friendship
Grounded Theory
Mainstreaming
Parent Attitudes
Parents
Peer Acceptance
Perceptions
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Secondary Schools
Transitional Programs
Transitions
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom > UK
qualitative
transition to secondary school
autism spectrum disorders
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Transferring from mainstream primary to secondary school can be especially problematic for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Two groups of parents (nine pretransition and six posttransition parents) contributed to this 15-month-long study. Perceptions of the pretransition group were captured through focus groups and in-depth interviews at three critical times: before transition, one term in, and after a full year of secondary schooling. The posttransition group provided retrospective perceptions. The data, coded using a grounded theory approach, confirmed that transition was problematic in the first year, although there were signs of integration by the second year of secondary school. The establishment of friendship groups and peer acceptance appeared to be the key criteria for successful transition.
ISSN:1088-3576
1538-4829
DOI:10.1177/1088357612441827