School-Based Interventions for Increasing Autistic Pupils’ Social Inclusion in Mainstream Schools: A Systematic Review

Yung Ting Tsou*, Lilla Veronika Kovács, Angeliki Louloumari, Lex Stockmann, Els M.A. Blijd-Hoogewys, Alexander Koutamanis, Carolien Rieffe

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
20 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

School-based interventions for socially including autistic pupils in mainstream schools were systematically reviewed. Included interventions targeted at least one level of the school environment: the autistic children, the peers, the staff, and/or the physical environment, and assessed autistic pupils’ quantity and/or quality of social participation as outcome measures. Findings from 56 studies showed increased accessibility of school activities to autistic pupils, but the reciprocity and friendship between the autistic pupils and the peers were not necessarily improved. Moreover, limited interventions were available for modifying the physical environment. A more holistic strategy that moves the focus from individual children’s social skills to the larger context surrounding children, should be considered for a better inclusion of autistic children in school routine.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages24
JournalReview Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Early online date13 Feb 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print/First online - 13 Feb 2024

Keywords

  • Autism
  • Mainstream Schools
  • School-Based Intervention
  • Social Inclusion
  • Systematic Review

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'School-Based Interventions for Increasing Autistic Pupils’ Social Inclusion in Mainstream Schools: A Systematic Review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this