A strengths-based approach to autism research with siblings

Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou and Dr Dagmara Dimitriou from UCL Institute of Education, discuss their research into the experiences of both neurotypical and autistic siblings in adolescence. They explore the benefits of siblings as co-researchers and co-producers of the research, and the role siblings may play in educating their local communities about autism acceptance

Lonely Lockdown. Life for siblings of disabled children in the UK

In May 2020, Sibs conducted a survey of parents in order to better understand how the needs of siblings of disabled children were affected by lockdown. The first survey results made difficult reading: 75% of parents felt their sibling child’s mental health had worsened in lockdown; 50% of siblings were providing more care; a third were missing family and friends. Ten months on and in lockdown 3, we wanted to explore if and how things had changed for siblings of disabled children. Sibs Charity, in collaboration with University College London (UCL) researcher Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou launched a survey in February 2021 for 4 weeks to hear from parents about family experiences with a focus on siblings' day-to-day experiences and mental health needs. We also wanted to understand the nature of any school support, how the relationships between siblings and their brothers and sisters had been affected and what some of the greatest challenges were for children and young people. We hope the results of this survey will help to highlight the impact which lockdown has had on the majority of siblings and go on to inform a recovery response. Our findings suggest that the pandemic has had both an immediate and lasting effect on the mental health of many siblings who will need access to appropriate support from CAMHS services and schools in the months and years to come as part of a recovery plan

Sleep in Autistic Adults

A group of autistic adults were involved in the consultation process for this project, and they chose the name of the study – Sleep Focus Autistic. This name arose from a thread on social media that sparked a number of conversations amongst autistic adults on the topic of sleep, all of whom recognised it as a critical issue to explore and understand. Participants discussed their sleep experiences, perspectives and needs by engaging in dialogue with the researcher and with each other

In their own words, in their own photos: Adolescent females' siblinghood experiences, needs and perspectives growing up with a preverbal autistic brother or sister

Thus far very little research has focused on siblings in early adolescent years growing up with an autistic sibling. Adopting a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, 11 typically developing sisters actively collaborated in the study to collect and analyse data as well as disseminate their experiences, needs and perspectives in their local communities. This is the first study to use a modified Photovoice methodology which provided typically developing sisters an active participatory role. The results highlighted the feelings, needs and thoughts the sisters expressed in their role as siblings, friends, but also as students and citizens with a passion for advocacy, and limited support in the community due to unhelpful attitudes of members of their community towards autism. The findings indicated that the current method used can successfully co-generate research findings with family members by ensuring pathways for engaging local community. This is crucial in shifting the balance between vulnerability and resilience in families raising an autistic child. Furthermore, when knowledge about the lived experience is drawn directly from the perspective of the actual people (siblings) involved in the phenomenon (siblinghood and autism), a more appropriate, responsive and need-fulfilling strategy of supportive and proactive support systems can be initiated

FlowUnlocked in East London

Who we are: We are a collaborative group of three; Georgia Pavlopoulou, Doctor in Psychology and Mental health, UCL autism researcher & neurodiversity advocate; Jon Adams, neurodivergent polymath, Synaesthete, MHChampion & artist, Briony Campbell, east London photographer, filmmaker & creative facilitator. We are funded by UCL Culture. About our funder We are being funded by UCL Culture (University College London), within the Trellis project. The intentions of Trellis are to connect UCL researchers with local artists and engage the east London communities that surround the new UCL East campus, currently under construction on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. At this stage we have been funded a small amount in order to refine our methodologies and ideas and develop our proposal for a larger project. Your participation in our consultancy group would be helping us to do this. What we’re doing We aim to codesign and codeliver a creative participatory research project, which will seek to illuminate the relationships that matter to autistic people during and after lockdown in east London. We are interested in environmental and sensory relationships as well as interpersonal and human/object/animal relationships. The project will focus on east Londoners. Our intention is to create a space for autistic east Londoners to share their perspectives and ideas on relationships, as part of a knowledge exchange with artists and researchers. This project aims to engage autistic people in collaborative and creative practice. We want to enhance awareness and acceptance of autistic people, by creating honest and compelling public art inspired by how Autisic people relate to the communities and environments around them

The experiences of autistic young people and their parents of lockdown and the reopening of schools: Key messages for policy makers, schools and families

This briefing reports on the findings of qualitative research, funded by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) conducted in late 2020 with 17 parents of autistic children and young people (CYP) attending mainstream schools in England, as well as six autistic CYP themselves. The aim of the research was to generate insight into these parents and children’s lived experiences of the 2020 lockdown, home-schooling, virtual learning and return to school. While much of the broader focus on impacts of lockdown on education has shown the effects on CYP experiencing socio-economic deprivation, this research demonstrates its significant impacts on autistic CYP, who were already at risk of educational exclusion pre-pandemic. The briefing provides evidence to contribute to current debates about how schools move forward in the wake of the pandemic

The experiences of autistic young people & their parents of lockdown & the reopening of schools

This report summarises qualitative research conducted in late 2020 with parents of autistic children and young people (CYP) attending mainstream schools in England, as well as some autistic CYP themselves. It aimed to understand how they experienced lockdown, home-schooling, virtual learning and return to school. Findings indicate that conditions of lockdown such as disrupted schooling, reduced social contact and lack of spontaneity were already familiar to participant families. Retreating into the private sphere of the home came as a (partial) relief for many, providing respite from the intense parental labour involved in negotiating between CYP and schools. However, parents faced additional responsibilities to assist their children’s access to schoolwork, and simultaneously lost vital support from families, support groups and therapies, which further exacerbated their marginalisation. Our findings lead us to argue that the pandemic has cast a harsh light on the ordinary workings of mainstream schools, which create and maintain ‘spoiled identities’ for many autistic students

Autistic adults' personal experiences of navigating a social world prior to and during Covid-19 lockdown in Spain

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic brought significant movement restrictions and national lockdowns. These drastic changes impacted routines, social life and support networks for the autistic community. AIMS: This study investigated the lived experiences of autistic adults with social expectations before and during the first Covid-19 lockdown in Spain. METHODS: A qualitative Reflexive Thematic Analysis was applied to 10 Photo Elicitation Interviews using images provided by five autistic adults. Interviews were conducted at two time points, before the pandemic and during the first lockdown. FINDINGS: Three themes before the pandemic were identified: (1) everyday interactions, (2) finding sense of belonging, and (3) fractured wellbeing, which revealed the participants' eagerness to fit in socially whilst experiencing rejection, weakening their mental health. During the first Covid-19 lockdown, two master themes were identified: (1) daily, positive experiences, and (2) surfacing failures, which emphasised an increased lived stigma as well as an ineffective autism support network, contributing to a heightened anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides further support to the recent findings highlighting lack of appropriate mental health support for the autistic communities during the pandemic, across the world. Future research should aim to provide more data on the experiences and needs of autistic communities when sudden societal changes are imposed

“I often have to explain to school staff what she needs”. School experiences of non-autistic siblings growing up with an autistic brother or sister

BACKGROUND: Recent autism research has evidenced a shift from psychological outcomes to contextualised approaches to understanding the varying needs of non autistic siblings of autistic children across different systems. Yet, there is limited research exploring the lived experiences of siblings in their school context. METHODS: First, a group of school aged sibling advisors worked with the first author to codesign research aims, methods and dissemination practices around the topic of the school experiences of siblings who grow up with an autistic brother or sister in the UK. Then, 28 school-aged siblings of autistic children completed adapted photo-elicitation interviews, to discuss their school experiences. A background questionnaire was also administered to their parents and carers. RESULTS: Thematic analysis was employed. The master themes included: (i) Impact of home experiences in schoolwork, including limited personal time and sleep disruptions (ii) Siblings’ school interactions impact on overall school experience, including a wide range of both typical and difficult experiences such as school day disruptions, (iii) Varied perceived levels of support and understanding, including emotional and/or educational support by family members and a sense of connectedness with peers and teachers who are autistic themselves or connected to someone with a diagnosis of autism. IMPLICATIONS: The results underline the ways home experiences can have an impact on school life of siblings, the positive contribution of the autistic school staff and/or staff who have an autistic family member and the need for an organisational culture of inclusivity and widespread acceptance and awareness around issues of neurodiversity. Our findings suggest several implications for school psychologists in core functions of the educational psychologists’ role including training, consultation, assessment, and whole school support. DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: The datasets generated for this study are not readily available because they include sensitive data (photos of siblings’ houses, family members, personal objects, and school timetables). Requests to access the datasets should be directed to corresponding author

Χάραξη-Υπολογισμός των χαρακτηριστικών καμπυλών φυγόκεντρης αντλίας. Παραμετρική ανάλυση

161 σ.Το αντικείμενο της διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η χάραξη των αδιαστατοποιημένων καμπυλών λειτουργίας φυγόκεντρης αντλίας έχοντας ως δεδομένα την παροχή και το ύψος της αντλίας στο κανονικό σημείο λειτουργίας. Γι' αυτό το σκοπό χρησιμοποιήθηκαν δυο υπολογιστικοί κώδικες. Επιπλέον, γίνεται παραμετρική ανάλυση της επίδρασης των διαστασιολογικών παραμέτρων μιας αντλίας στις καμπύλες λειτουργίας της. Τέλος, όλα τα συμπεράσματα που αντλούνται από την παραμετρική ανάλυση, εφαρμόζονται στη χάραξη καμπυλών λειτουργίας για αντλίες διαφόρων ειδικών αριθμών στροφών και για τις οποίες υπάρχουν ελάχιστα δεδομένα.The topic of the current dissertation is the creation of the fundamental dimensionless curves, which define the overall performance of a centrifugal pump by using the nominal flow rate and head at the best efficiency point. Two computer programs have been applied for this assignement. Furthermore, there have been applied multiple changes to several pump's dimensions, in order to examine how these changes affect the performance curves. Finally, using the latter conclusions, performance curves have been plotted, which represent a wide range of specific speeds.Αικατερίνη Γ. Παυλοπούλο