Abstract
Autistic adolescents are increasingly educated in inclusive settings. This likely affects their education and experiences in a variety of ways, yet their opinions on their inclusive educational experiences are rarely sought. Autistic adolescents should be given the opportunity to share their opinions on their inclusive experiences to help identify structural issues that limit their success, as well as the school supports they desire. This literature review synthesizes the opinions of autistic adolescents on their experiences in inclusive education. After identifying 23 eligible studies in a systematic search, five overarching themes were identified relating to (1) negotiating identity, (2) peer interactions, (3) teacher characteristics, (4) instructional practices, and (5) classroom and school environment. Limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed, including the need to conduct studies on this topic in the USA and to solicit the perspectives of female autistic adolescents more actively.
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Funding to support work on this literature review was provided by an Assumption University Honors Program Summer Fellowship.
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. The database search and preliminary screening were conducted by Kimberly Preece. Both authors screened articles at the full-text level and contributed to the coding and analysis/synthesis processes. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Samantha Goldman with contributions by Kimberly Preece, including comments and revisions on later versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Goldman, S.E., Preece, K.N. Listening to the Perspectives of Autistic Adolescents on Inclusive Education: a Systematic Literature Review. Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-023-00416-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-023-00416-z