This paper follows on from the previous bulletin (Redford 2023), which covered the education remit of the Parliament's Education, Children and Young Peoples Committee between February 2022 and January 2023. The following bulletin covers the work of the Education, Children and Young People Committee from February to August 2023.

Mainstream secondary school can be a challenging environment for autistic students, in part due to social and sensory factors. Research to date has focussed on identifying the negative aspects of school experience; however, few studies have identified factors that promote positive experiences. We take a neuro-affirmative approach when exploring…

Shadow aides (also known as learning assistants or shadow teachers) and the vital role they play in the learning support plan of many inclusive policies and practices is under-researched. This paper explores stakeholders' experiences with and the views they hold of shadow aides in the inclusive classroom in a Caribbean context using a qualitative…

Total Communication is a collaborative intervention approach delivered by teachers and speech and language therapists (SLTs) to support children with complex speech language and communication needs (SLCN). Total Communication combines the intervention approaches of active learning and support for speech using augmentative and alternative…

Employment contributes to well-being, yet many autistic people who want to work face barriers to meaningful employment. Much research focuses solely on employment rates, rather than taking a more holistic view of professional trajectories and occupational experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 autistic adults to explore their…

Special education services are crucial for enhancing outcomes and well-being among autistic students. Unfortunately, many racially and ethnically minoritized and girl autistic youth face challenges in timely and accurate identification. National-level data reveal autism prevalence rates differ across student gender, race, and ethnicity hindering…

Autistic youth are at high risk for increased anxiety. Access to mental health care is challenging, particularly for youth from diverse communities. Facing Your Fears in Schools (FYF-S) is a manualized group CBT intervention to manage anxiety in autistic students and can be delivered by interdisciplinary school providers (ISPs). Training mental…

Students with disabilities (SWD) have consistently been excluded in science in science classrooms. As inquiry-based instruction is the preferred method of science instruction, finding the best ways to teach using inquiry as an inclusive methodology is essential. The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) is an argument-based inquiry approach that has…

Historically, classrooms have utilized stationary furniture, facing front toward a centralized instructor position, and limiting student-to-student interactions. Such classrooms often stem from design processes that tend to focus on building codes and feedback from investors, architects, and planners, which leaves little input from instructors and…

Purpose: Major depressive disorder (MDD) disproportionately affects those living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is associated with significant impairment and treatment recidivism. Methods: We studied the use of accelerated theta burst stimulation (ATBS) for the treatment of refractory MDD in ASD (3 treatments daily x 10 days). This…

Purpose: Social anhedonia is a transdiagnostic trait that reflects reduced pleasure from social interaction. It has historically been associated with autism, however, very few studies have directly examined behavioral symptoms of social anhedonia in autistic youth. We investigated rates of social anhedonia in autistic compared to non-autistic…

The study of English is compulsory throughout all 13 years of schooling in Australia and, while there are differentiated options in the senior years of school, these do not have the same parity of esteem nor transactional value. Previous research has identified patterns of enrolment in high versus low-status subjects, reflecting differential…

Background: Health outcomes of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Intellectual Disability are poor. Yet there is a paucity of nurse education and preparation to care for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability. Method: A cross sectional survey of Australian Registered Nurses related to their educational…

Objective: This study sought to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and measurement invariance of the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) among older sexual minority women with disabilities. Method: Participants (n = 208) consisted of sexual minority women aged 55 and…

Background: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) perform nasal laryngoscopy (LE) to assess voice and dysphagia-related disorders. The procedural aspects may include the use of topical nasal anaesthesia. Aims: To explore the practice patterns of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)-certified SLPs use of anaesthesia during laryngeal…