Piloting autism intervention research with teachers in mainstream classrooms

ABSTRACT

Although there is a recognised need for effective practices to support students on the autism spectrum in mainstream schools, there is a research to practice gap in the area of autism and education, whereby evidence-based intervention may take decades to translate into mainstream classroom practice. Thus, current recommendations are that, rather than presenting mainstream school teachers with interventions developed and tested in clinical or special education settings, a participatory research process should be used to facilitate implementation in real-world mainstream classrooms. This article reports on a case study that aimed to refine a structured teaching intervention package for use in mainstream classrooms, while at the same time tailoring research methods for evaluating the package in these settings. The outcomes of the project are presented with respect to (a) the development and refinement of the intervention package in consultation with a mainstream classroom teacher and (b) the lessons learned during the process that other clinical researchers, teachers, and clinicians could apply when implementing educational interventions in mainstream settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• structured teaching
• research to practice gap
• mainstream classrooms
• teachers
• educational interventions
• messy research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Libby Macdonald is a PhD scholar with the Autism CRC and Griffith University. She is researching the use of structured teaching strategies to support students on the autism spectrum in mainstream classrooms. She is also the parent of a child on the spectrum.

Deb Keen is professor in Education with the Autism Centre of Excellence in the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. She has published extensively from her research into ways of enhancing participation and engagement of individuals with autism and their families in home, school, and community. She is particularly interested in evidence-based practice, communication, problem behaviour, early intervention, and family-centred practice.

Jill Ashburner’s career in the disability sector has spanned almost 40 years, including a number of senior occupational therapy positions. For the past 9 years as manager, Research and Development at Autism Queensland, her autism research has focused on educational participation, ASD-friendly classrooms, sensory processing, professional development of clinicians, bullying, remote technology service delivery, and post-school transition programmes.

Debra Costley is a special educator with 30 years of experience in special education teaching and research. Debra is a research affiliate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Sydney University, a conjoint senior lecturer in the Faculty of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, and an honorary fellow in the School of Education at Wollongong University. In her role as National Director, Aspect Practice at Aspect, Debra has responsibility for applied research across Aspect and the development of models of service delivery for young people and adults with an autism spectrum disorder.

Kaaren Haas holds BSc and MA degrees, and is a research assistant at Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), with responsibility for collaborating on the design, implementation, and reporting of research and evaluation projects at Aspect. She has extensive prior experience in corporate communications and public policy, and is the mother of a young adult on the autism spectrum.

David Trembath is a speech pathologist, senior lecturer, and NHMRC ECR Fellow at the Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University. He specialises in the development and evaluation of evidence-based communication interventions and supports for children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.

ORCID

David Trembath http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4699-6195

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. This work was also supported by the Griffith Institute for Educational Research. David Trembath is supported by a NHMRC ECR Fellowship [grant number GNT1071811].