Inclusion of autistic students: promising modalities for supporting a school team.

Researchers tested a training program where an occupational therapist worked with school staff to better support autistic students. The program included regular visits, individual and group coaching, and practical training. School staff found it most helpful to have frequent contact with the therapist, try new approaches together, and receive personalized support. The program showed promise for making schools more inclusive for autistic children.

This design-based research study evaluated a professional development program led by an occupational therapist to support school staff working with autistic students. The program included five modalities: regular OT presence, needs analysis, inclusive school content, individual coaching, and team coaching. Nine school staff participated through interviews, questionnaires, and logbooks. Key helpful elements identified were frequent OT interactions, collaboration opportunities, personalized support, practice experimentation with the OT, and concrete training content benefiting all students.

The multi-modal approach showed promise for helping school teams facilitate participation of autistic students and their peers while addressing staff exhaustion risks.

Occupational therapists can effectively support school inclusion through structured professional development programs. Combining individual and team coaching with regular presence appears beneficial. Multi-tiered approaches addressing universal strategies may be more acceptable to school staff than autism-specific interventions alone.

Single case study with small sample size (9 staff). Design-based research approach limits generalizability. No control group or long-term follow-up reported. Specific student outcomes not measured, only staff perspectives captured.

School staff who work with autistic students are at a high risk of exhaustion. More training and guidance are needed to enable them to respond to these students' needs. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate a professional development program offered by an occupational therapist to help a team of school staff facilitate the participation of autistic students and their peers. A design-based research approach guided the development and evaluation of the modalities of the program.

A case study was conducted in a school with nine school staff members using individual interviews, questionnaires, and a logbook. The program comprised five modalities: regular presence of the occupational therapist, a needs analysis, content focused on the features of an inclusive school, individual coaching, and team coaching. The following elements emerged as particularly helpful for the participants: frequent interactions with the occupational therapist, opportunities to collaborate, personalized support, experimentation of new practices with the occupational therapist, and concrete training content that can benefit all students. The modalities of the program appear promising to help a school team facilitate the participation of all students, including those who are autistic.Implications for rehabilitationOccupational therapists can help school teams to facilitate the participation of autistic students and their peers.A combination of individual and team coaching sessions appears promising in helping school staff adopt practice changes to make their school more inclusive.Using a multi-tiered approach can help therapists collaborate with school staff members to first find solutions that will be applicable with all of their students.