Supporting self-determination of autistic students in transitions.
Schools pack transition plans with paperwork yet leave the autistic student voice out—flip the order and let the student lead.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Webster et al. (2022) asked Australian schools how they help autistic students move from school to adult life.
They sent a survey to teachers, counselors, and principals. The team wanted to know who picks the goals and who runs the meetings.
What they found
Most schools use plenty of forms, folders, and meetings. Yet the student often sits silent.
Adults choose the jobs, the college, the transport plan. The teen signs the paper at the end. This habit weakens self-determination skills.
How this fits with other research
Delgado-Lobete et al. (2019) saw the opposite in Canada. Preschool teams there invited families and kids to help shape goals.
Hatfield et al. (2018) went further. Their BOOST-A program lets teens list their own strengths and pick career steps. Amanda’s survey shows few schools copy that model.
Vassos et al. (2023) scanned 31 recent studies and reached the same verdict: autistic voices are still side-lined. The new data do not clash with older work; they confirm the gap is wide and stubborn.
Why it matters
If students never practice choice in school, they are less likely to ask for help, set goals, or speak up at work.
You can fix this today. Add one student-led question to every transition meeting: “What do you want your life to look like next year?” Let the teen answer first.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite awareness of the need to support autistic students in transitions, great variability is found in transition supports provided across different school environments and staff within schools. Moreover, strategies implemented may not provide autistic students with the supports they need to reduce their anxiety and build their sense of self-determination during transitions. AIM: The current paper aimed to determine what types of transition supports are employed in Australian schools to support autistic students and to consider these supports through the lens of self-determination theory. METHODS: Surveys were conducted with 422 parents, educators and education specialists who provided information on transition supports employed in schools in open-ended questions. Transition supports were explored in more depth through interviews with a subset of 30 participants. RESULTS: Findings indicate that schools provided a range of strategies, programmes and planning processes to support students in transitions. However, students were often passive recipients of supports who were rarely involved in the planning and implementation of strategies. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that current transition supports implemented in schools may support autistic students in some transitions, but are not likely to develop their self-determination to successfully navigate transitions over the long-term. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?: Drawing on self-determination theory, this study provides a unique and much needed examination of the types of strategies employed in schools and offers a critical reflection as to whether these strategies are likely to support autistic students to develop a sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness to successfully manage future transitions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104301