Researching education: Five further readings on autism spectrum disorder

Welcome to this month's edition of Researching education: Five further readings. In this series, we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online databases, and Teacher archive content you might not have come across yet.

Understanding the challenges, as well as the strengths of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can assist teachers to address their needs in an inclusive way.

In these five readings, you'll find a paper from the OECD on neurodiversity in education; a report from the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) covering the educational needs of students on the autism spectrum, as well as their parents and schools; and curated links for online research catalogues that offer up a range of resources on the topic of ASD.

  1. Cunningham Library Catalogue – students on the autism spectrum. Follow the title link to a list of books at reports focusing on students on the autism spectrum. The Cunningham Library Catalogue is an open access resource filled with references and links to Australian education research material including journals, government reports and books. You can search the entire catalogue here.
  2. EdResearch Online – students on the autism spectrum. Follow the title link to a list of journal articles relating to students on the autism spectrum. This list will update as new content is added to the EdResearch Online database. EdResearch Online contains hundreds of articles from Australian education journals, some of which are open access. Click here to search EdResearch Online.
  3. Australian Autism Educational Needs Analysis – What are the needs of schools, parents and students on the autism spectrum? This analysis, published by Autism CRC, considers the educational needs of students on the autism spectrum within school settings. Findings from a nationwide survey of various groups including educators, specialists, parents and the students themselves are presented.
  4. Distraction, distress and diversity: Exploring the impact of sensory processing differences on learning and school life for pupils with autism spectrum disorders. In this recent study, the authors aimed to capture parent and teacher perspectives on how sensory differences affect learning and life at school for pupils with ASD. The findings presented here also include some consideration of how to reduce sensory impacts. On this site, you can also browse some other open access articles on ASD research.
  5. Trends Shaping Education Spotlight 12: Neurodiversity in Education. In this paper, the OECD considers ways in which education systems can work to meet the needs of students living with ASD and other learners with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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