Hearing the voices of students with autism. What is the lived experience of students in an ASD class?

Abstract

The education of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been subject to debate for a number of years, particularly following the international commitment to inclusive education. In Ireland students with ASD have access to a continuum of provision which affords them the opportunity to attend a mainstream school, a special school or a special class within a mainstream school. This study sought to obtain the voices of students with ASD in order to gain a more in depth understanding of their experiences in an ASD class within a mainstream school. Four students with ASD took part in this qualitative study, sharing their experiences through drawings, semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation interviews. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to examine the data and the findings demonstrate their experiences are predominantly positive, furthermore it became apparent the participants viewed the school as a whole as having a positive influence on their experiences