Piloting autism intervention research with teachers in mainstream classrooms

Macdonald, Libby; Keen, Deb; Ashburner, Jill; Costley, Debra; Haas, Kaaren; Trembath, David

Abstract

Although there is a recognised need for effective practices to support students on the autism spectrum in mainstream schools, there is a research to practice gap in the area of autism and education, whereby evidence-based intervention may take decades to translate into mainstream classroom practice. Thus, current recommendations are that, rather than presenting mainstream school teachers with interventions developed and tested in clinical or special education settings, a participatory research process should be used to facilitate implementation in real-world mainstream classrooms. This article reports on a case study that aimed to refine a structured teaching intervention package for use in mainstream classrooms, while at the same time tailoring research methods for evaluating the package in these settings. The outcomes of the project are presented with respect to (a) the development and refinement of the intervention package in consultation with a mainstream classroom teacher and (b) the lessons learned during the process that other clinical researchers, teachers, and clinicians could apply when implementing educational interventions in mainstream settings.

Citation

Macdonald, L., Keen, D., Ashburner, J., Costley, D., Haas, K., & Trembath, D. (in press). Piloting autism intervention research with teachers in mainstream classrooms. International Journal of Inclusive Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2017.1335355

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 18, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jun 5, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 20, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 6, 2018
• Journal: International Journal of Inclusive Education
• Print ISSN: 1360-3116
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-5173
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2017.1335355
• Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Structured teaching, Research to practice gap, Mainstream classrooms, Teachers, Educational interventions, Messy research
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/864386
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2017.1335355
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Inclusive Education on 05/06/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13603116.2017.1335355