This video summarises the collective views of the adults that participated as part of the Removing educational barriers in Australian schools for autistic students (REBAS) project. This part of the study aimed to increase our understanding of the educational strengths and needs of autistic students and barriers and enablers to their educational success.
Read the white paper report Download research snapshot of strength, needs, barriers and enablers
Understanding strengths, needs, barriers and enablers to autistic students’ success
Speaker: The aim of this national Autism CRC research was to increase our understanding of the educational strengths and needs of autistic students and barriers and enablers to their educational success.
Today we're going to talk about the collective views of the adults that participated in this study.
This included 64 parents and caregivers, 37 educators and 33 allied health practitioners.
We asked participants to share their perspectives of the strengths, needs, enablers and barriers, influencing autistic students' academic learning, wellbeing, and engagement at school.
In this video, we talk about common things shared by participants, but it is important to note that there were also some differences in views between different participant groups that won't be discussed in this video.
We heard that student strengths were linked to two key areas.
One, personality traits such as kindness and compassion,
Quote: “Very loving and sensitive to the emotions of others”.
Speaker: And two, thinking and reasoning skills such as creative problem-solving skills, as well as passion and interest in school subjects.
Quote: “They have a great ability to think outside the box and come up with solutions or ideas that I would never have thought of”.
Speaker: The two key student needs described related to one, the need for classroom supports and adjustments.
Quote: “Choice about how to meet the curriculum requirements. Does the task have to be done exactly the same way as everyone else doing it to see that the outcomes have been met?”
Speaker: And two, ensure students' social needs were adequately met.
Quote: “Developing meaningful connections with peer groups and teachers”.
Speaker: Enablers and barriers were raised across three key areas. The first was an understanding of autism. This includes the need for staff resources and training and how to support autistic students.
So, if this is present, it is an enabler, but if not, it can be a barrier to the success of autistic students. The second point was around support networks, including supportive staff and peer relationships. Again, this could be an enabler or a barrier. The third point was around the need to individualize supports to the specific student.
This includes flexibility of the curriculum, teaching style, and academic and behavioural expectations to support the strengths and needs of the specific student. If individualised support and learning is in place, it can enable success, but if not, it could be a barrier.
Overall, our findings highlight the importance of a strengths-based approach that acknowledges and harnesses the strengths and talents of autistic students. Findings also highlight the importance of developing the understanding and skills of educators and allied health practitioners working with autistic students.
With more knowledge and understanding of autistic students, our educators and practitioners are better placed to identify and provide individualised supports and learning opportunities to promote students' strengths and address their needs. For evidence-based and research informed inclusive teaching practices, please visit inclusionED at inclusionED.edu au.
To learn more about this project, our full report is available via the Autism CRC Knowledge Centre at autismcrc.com au. Thank you to all our participants for sharing their perspectives and to our team.