Perceptions on the primary-secondary school transition from French students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their parents

ABSTRACT

The transition from primary to secondary school is a challenge, particularly for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). International studies report the perceptions and experiences of different involved stakeholders during the primary-secondary transition in this specific context. Since the 1980s, the French education system has put in place mechanisms to promote inclusive education.The research takes place in this context in order to contribute to the corpus of international studies.

French students with ASD and their parents were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences regarding the transition. The semi-structured interviews were analysed through qualitative content analysis.

The findings identify the perceptions of the different participants, as well as useful strategies and typical obstacles. However, the uniqueness of each case does not allow for one-size-fits-all recommendations, but rather to tailor the transition planning and procedure for each involved stakeholder.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• transition
• secondary school
• France
• inclusive education

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the families that took part in the study.

We also thank Sophie-Charlotte Debionne and Frédérique Rauscher from the ASH 67 for their support in establishing the contact to the families.

Furthermore, we thank Audrey Avenard, Allyson Blanger, Léa Bottazzi and Alexa Guerrero for their help with the transcription of the interviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project has been financed by the excellence initiative (IdEx: Initiatived’Excellence) of the University of Strasbourg through a doctoral contract and by the Scientific Interest Group ‘Education and Training’ (Groupement d’Intérêt Scientifique (GIS) Education et Formation).