Autism, anxiety and extended school nonattendance: Understanding the lived experience of children and young people through a neurodiversity lens

Abstract

Background: Anxiety is a commonly cooccurring mental health condition for autistic children and young people (CYP), however literature indicates a fractured understanding of the distinction between the concepts of autism and anxiety. One expression of anxiety is nonattendance from school, which has become an area of pertinent interest for researchers and practitioners. Autistic CYP are at an increased risk of experiencing this phenomenon that has immediate and long-term adverse consequences. Papers One and Two respond to the call from the neurodiversity paradigm for a shift towards qualitative and participatory research methodologies to understand autistic CYP’s lived experiences. Methods/Participants: Paper One describes a systematic literature review (SLR) of ten studies exploring the experience of anxiety for school aged autistic CYP. Informed by the PRISMA framework, studies were appraised for methodological quality and relevance of focus. Paper Two, an empirical study, adopted a Participatory Inquiry design to explore effective support to meet the needs of autistic young people (YP) who have experienced extended school nonattendance. Unstructured interviews with two YP explored their perspectives; supported by three parental viewpoints. Paper Three reports a strategy to disseminate and evaluate the impact of research. Analysis/Findings: SLR papers were analysed using thematic synthesis and reported heterogeneous experiences which vary across contexts with complex interactions between autistic characteristics and neurotypical environments. The participatory design of the empirical study enabled autistic YP to identify the themes of time, the internal processes of control and motivation, relationships and safe environments. Findings have been disseminated to a range of stakeholders and professionals. Conclusion/Implications: Neurotypical environments may have a significant impact upon anxiety amongst CYP and effective support is conceptualised through an understanding and acceptance of individual lived experience of autism. Implications for policy, practice and research are considered.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Kevin Woods (Supervisor) & Caroline Bond (Supervisor)