In today’s digest, we would like to present some resources on the topic of Autism in educational settings. What are the challenges that autistic people face in the classroom? How can instructors support autistic people in their learning and development? Ultimately, the key is to create open and welcoming learning environments that will be beneficial for all students. Here are the resources:

1) Supporting Autistic Students: Understanding Drop Out, Camouflaging and First Impressions – A Reflection (https://tile.psy.gla.ac.uk/2020/03/11/supporting-autistic-students-understanding-drop-out-camouflaging-and-first-impressions-a-reflection/) by Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel, @pimpmymemory, for the TILE Network, @TILEnetwork.

This is a reflection on a talk by Dr Eilidh Cage who presented her research during the Teaching Innovation & Learning Enhancement (TILE) network seminar. This talk focusses on Autistic students in Higher Education. You can watch the recording of the talk, too.

2) Autism in the Classroom: Educational Issues across the Lifespan (https://www.intechopen.com/books/autism-spectrum-disorders-advances-at-the-end-of-the-second-decade-of-the-21st-century/autism-in-the-classroom-educational-issues-across-the-lifespan) by Yasamin Bolourian, Katherine K.M. Stavropoulos and Jan Blacher, an open-access peer-reviewed chapter.

An entire chapter that is dedicated to the topic. Research is presented separately for different educational sectors. It is a longer read, but very helpful to get a good overview.

3) Good Practice in Autism Education (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/autism-education) a Future Learn online course (free) by The University of Bath, @UniofBath.

Quote from the course description: “Currently there are many modalities of schooling for students with autism, including general special schools, autism-specific special schools, autism units within mainstream schools and being in a mainstream classroom. But what are the benefits and challenges of these different types of education? What are the implications for inclusion? What constitutes good practice within autism education? These questions are addressed in this course and are crucial for enabling children on the autism spectrum to be educated to their greatest potential.”

4)      What School Could Be If It Were Designed for Kids With Autism (https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/12/autism-students-classrooms-asd-nest/604027/) by Kristina Rizga, @KristinaRizga, for The Atlantic, @TheAtlantic

This piece describes a case of a school in New York City and outlines how they support autistic pupils. Practical tips can be found here for younger children and teachers in primary schools.

5) The Autism Toolbox (http://www.autismtoolbox.co.uk/) by the Scottish Government, Education Scotland, and the National Autism Implementation Team

A collection of free resources “developed to support the inclusion of autistic learners in Scottish Early Learning and Childcare settings, Primary and Secondary schools.” Take a look at this website for information and inspiration.

Every Sunday, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:

Weekly Digest #136: Optimizing Lecture Capture

Digest #137: Lessons Learned From Learning Scientists Teacher Workshops

Digest #138: Fostering Self-Regulated Learning in Students

Digest #139: What Comes After School? Career Tips and Advise

Digest #140: There’s An App For That