Promoting social-inclusion: Adapting and refining a school participation and connectedness intervention for neurodiverse children in UK primary schools.
UK schools can adapt social-inclusion plans by letting neurodiverse pupils and parents co-write the lessons first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Giofrè et al. (2024) asked UK teachers, parents, and kids how to tweak an Australian inclusion plan.
The plan is called In My Shoes. It helps 8- to 10-year-olds with autism or ADHD feel part of the class.
The team held small chats and classroom try-outs. They folded the lessons into normal PSHE time.
What they found
Adults and kids liked the tweaks. They said the stories and role-plays felt real.
No scores were taken. The paper only shares what people said, not if it worked.
How this fits with other research
Mandy et al. (2016) ran a UK transition plan called STEP-ASD. They cut behaviour problems in half with clear steps and teacher checklists. David’s team copies that tidy, teacher-friendly style but aims at everyday inclusion, not just moving schools.
Shum et al. (2019) translated PEERS® for Chinese teens. They used parent help and saw big social gains. David borrows the same idea: keep the heart of a foreign plan, then reshape it with local families.
McKinlay et al. (2022) warn that UK parents feel ignored and see their autistic kids excluded. David’s study answers that cry by letting parents co-write the lessons before they launch.
Why it matters
You now have a ready-made road map for co-designing inclusion lessons. Invite parents, pupils, and staff to tweak any off-the-shelf plan. Run short pilots during PSHE. Listen, edit, then test for real outcomes. This keeps you from dropping another top-down plan that sits on the shelf.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Education systems on an international basis have experienced an increase of neurodiverse students in mainstream schools. Such students can experience a deficit in school connectedness which restricts inclusive participation. In My Shoes is an intervention programme developed in Australia to support the inclusion of pupils with autism in primary school settings. This study aimed to adapt this programme for delivery in UK primary schools and widen it to encompass all neurodiverse pupils. METHODS: Focus groups of key stakeholders (Pupils, Parents, Teachers and Senior Leaders) explored and shared perspectives on the In My Shoes programme with regard to adapting and refining it for delivery in UK primary schools. Focus group data were analysed using a thematic approach. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the data focusing upon materials, curriculum, context, duration, and whole-school approach. Linking the intervention to the PSHE curriculum for delivery was a key finding. CONCLUSIONS: All key stakeholder groups found the programme beneficial to school connectedness and participation. They contributed to adaptations necessary to widen intervention to encompass all neurodiverse children and for deployment in UK primary schools. The biggest endorsement came from the pupil groups that were most enthusiastic about the intervention, who demonstrated an understanding and a relation to the concepts of the programme. Following revisions to the materials and adaptations suggested by stakeholders, a small feasibility study will be conducted with neurodiverse pupils and their typically developing peers across mainstream year 4 and year 5 classrooms (age 8-10 year olds) in the UK.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104857