Practitioners' perspectives and experiences of supporting bilingual pupils on the autism spectrum in two linguistically different educational settings

Funder: University of Cambridge; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000735With greater linguistic diversity in educational settings around the world as a result of international migration, and a rise in autism diagnoses, educators are more frequently teaching children who are both neurodiverse and linguistically different to their peers. The aim of the present study was to uncover the perspectives and experiences of educational practitioners who provide support for bilingual learners on the autism spectrum in two linguistically different educational settings: England and Wales. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 practitioners (5 teachers, 4 teaching assistants, 3 special educational needs coordinators and 1 speech and language therapist) working in mainstream schools. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), which seeks to illuminate participants' lived experience. Three superordinate themes were extracted from the data: (1) perspectives on bilingualism in autism; (2) comparisons across two linguistically different settings; (3) creating inclusive learning environments. The results demonstrate that practitioners had concerns about the feasibility of bilingualism for some autistic pupils, and argued that exposure to two languages may have a negative impact on their development. Future research should focus on finding effective ways to identify and support learning needs among bilingual pupils to ensure that children who are ‘doubly different’ from their peers not only have access to educational provision, but also have opportunities to harness and celebrate their differences

Professional learning among specialist staff in resourced mainstream schools for pupils with ASD and SLI

Supporting pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools is a challenging task. This paper proposes a professional development framework for EPs to consider when supporting the development of specialist ASD staff. The framework focuses on training content, educator characteristics and organisational elements. Nine mainstream schools developing additional provision to support children with ASD and Specific Language Impairment (SLI) participated in the research. Specialist staff were provided with training and took part in follow up interviews about their developing practice. A pre-post questionnaire of participants (N = 30) attending the specialist training is supplemented with longitudinal interview data from specialist staff (N = 20). A paired sample t-test of questionnaire data showed that staff self-efficacy significantly increased pre to post training with a large effect size(0.61) and thematic analysis of interviews provided evidence of sustained professional development over time underpinned by supportive organisational factors

Developing mainstream resource provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder: staff perceptions and satisfaction

Supporting pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools is a challenging task. This paper proposes a professional development framework for EPs to consider when supporting the development of specialist ASD staff. The framework focuses on training content, educator characteristics and organisational elements. Nine mainstream schools developing additional provision to support children with ASD and Specific Language Impairment (SLI) participated in the research. Specialist staff were provided with training and took part in follow up interviews about their developing practice. A pre-post questionnaire of participants (N = 30) attending the specialist training is supplemented with longitudinal interview data from specialist staff (N = 20). A paired sample t-test of questionnaire data showed that staff self-efficacy significantly increased pre to post training with a large effect size(0.61) and thematic analysis of interviews provided evidence of sustained professional development over time underpinned by supportive organisational factors

Bullying of children and adolescents with autism spectrum conditions: a 'state of the field' review

A ‘state of the field’ review of what is currently known about bullying of children and adolescents with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) is presented. We highlight compelling evidence that they are considerably more likely to be bullied than those with other or no special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Although prevalence estimates vary from study to study, they are always worryingly high, with the highest rate reported as 94%. Those most at risk include (but are not limited to) individuals with Asperger syndrome and/or with milder deficits in social understanding, early adolescents, those attending mainstream school, and those with concurrent behavioural difficulties. Research on anti-bullying interventions for ASC is in its relative infancy. Currently available evidence suggests that a multi-level, comprehensive approach to intervention that offers parallel foci on children and young people with ASC, their peers, teaching and support staff, and the broader school ethos and climate is warranted. A crucial component of the above is the acknowledgement of the elevated risk experienced by those with ASC and the requirement to tailor interventions to their specific needs

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution and crustal architecture of the Orphan Basin during North Atlantic rifting

The Orphan Basin is located in the deep offshore of the Newfoundland margin, and it is bounded by the continental shelf to the west, the Grand Banks to the south, and the continental blocks of Orphan Knoll and Flemish Cap to the east. The Orphan Basin formed in Mesozoic time during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean between eastern Canada and western Iberia–Europe. This work, based on well data and regional seismic reflection profiles across the basin, indicates that the continental crust was affected by several extensional episodes between the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous, separated by events of uplift and erosion. The preserved tectono-stratigraphic sequences in the basin reveal that deformation initiated in the eastern part of the Orphan Basin in the Jurassic and spread towards the west in the Early Cretaceous, resulting in numerous rift structures filled with a Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous syn-rift succession and overlain by thick Upper Cretaceous to Cenozoic post-rift sediments. The seismic data show an extremely thinned crust (4–16 km thick) underneath the eastern and western parts of the Orphan Basin, forming two sub-basins separated by a wide structural high with a relatively thick crust (17 km thick). Quantifying the crustal architecture in the basin highlights the large discrepancy between brittle extension localized in the upper crust and the overall crustal thinning. This suggests that continental deformation in the Orphan Basin involved, in addition to the documented Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rifting, an earlier brittle rift phase which is unidentifiable in seismic data and a depth-dependent thinning of the crust driven by localized lower crust ductile flow

Coulomb pre-stress and fault bends are ignored yet vital factors for earthquake triggering and hazard

Successive locations of individual large earthquakes (Mw>5.5) over years to centuries can be difficult to explain with simple Coulomb Stress Transfer (CST) because it is common for seismicity to circumvent nearest-neighbour along-strike faults where coseismic CST is greatest. We demonstrate that Coulomb pre-stress (the cumulative CST from multiple earthquakes and interseismic loading on non-planar faults) may explain this, evidenced by study of a 667-year historical record of earthquakes in central Italy. Heterogeneity in Coulomb pre-stresses across the fault system is >±50 bars, whereas coseismic CST is <±2 bars, so the latter will rarely overwhelm the former, explaining why historical earthquakes rarely rupture nearest neighbor faults. However, earthquakes do tend to occur where the cumulative coseismic and interseismic CST is positive, although there are notable examples where earthquake propagate across negatively stressed portions of faults. Hence Coulomb pre-stress calculated for non-planar faults is an ignored yet vital factor for earthquake triggering