Anthony Feiler

Parental Perspectives on Early Intensive Intervention for Children Diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Previous research on early intensive intervention in autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) has largely focused on outcomes of treatment for children. Although some account has been taken of parental viewpoints, the potential impact of intervention on families has not achieved the same kind of research prominence. This contrasts with the considerable literature that exists exploring the experiences of parents of children with a wide range of special needs and disabilities. This article reports data from a Local Education Authority (LEA)-funded research commission designed to inform future policy and service provision. Themes are extracted from interview transcripts and questionnaire responses to reflect the views of 15 families, including nine whose children were receiving an LEA pilot intervention programme for ASD, and six who were managing their own interventions based on Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA). Implications are drawn for future service delivery in support of key principles for early intervention for all families of young children with developmental disabilities.

Getting engaged: possibilities and problems for home–school knowledge exchange

In this paper we report some of the literacy and numeracy actions developed on the Home School Knowledge Exchange (HKSE) project and examine these in relation to the engagement of participants. The exchanges of knowledge included two‐way processes where aspects of childrens out‐of‐school worlds informed teaching and learning in the classroom as well as the more usual sharing of knowledge about school with childrens families. We comment on patterns of parental engagement and on the development of actions that built not only on parental knowledge but also on the agency of the child. A key implication of this work is that ‘one size does not fit all’—more successful actions include different family members at different times and in different ways. Although the positive potential of home–school knowledge exchange for engagement is discussed, the difficulties and complexities of this field are recognized and explored.

Early Intensive Family Intervention and Evidence of Effectiveness: Lessons from the South West Autism Programme

Intervention strategies in autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have emanated from a range of theoretical perspectives with a consensus view that the greatest impact on childrens subsequent development is likely to occur when this work is early, intensive and focuses on young children in the context of the family. Controversies in ASD intervention have arisen in relation to claims for effectiveness, particularly for versions of Applied Behavioural Analysis. Taking account of user perspectives, the evidence base for ASD intervention is considered, distinguishing between experimental work that identifies a treatment effect and research that establishes ecological validity. In order to move practice forward, research is required to address which programme components are helpful for which children and which families in which contexts. Drawing on current intervention research (South West Autism Programme), this paper concludes by outlining some of the factors that need to be considered in shaping future ASD research and ASD service provision.

A home visiting project for Reception children predicted to experience literacy difficulties

The importance of early success in literacy learning and of engaging parents in this process has long been recognised by those involved in early years education. However, key factors that underpin effective strategies for helping families who might be described as ‘difficult to reach’ have yet to be identified. The study reported here was designed to support two children judged to be most at risk of struggling with literacy, primarily through the provision of weekly home visits during their first year at school. Anthony Feiler, a lecturer in special educational needs at the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol and previously a teacher and educational psychologist, describes the work of the teaching assistant who carried out these visits and presents data on the outcomes for the children involved. There is evidence that the additional support was effective. Anthony Feiler uses both test scores and the views of participants, taken from a series of interviews, to draw tentative conclusions from this research and to highlight a need for further development work and enquiry in this crucial area.

Collecting disability data from parents

This article describes the development and national trial of a methodology for collecting disability data directly from parents, enabling schools and local authorities to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA; 2005) to promote equality of opportunity for all children. It illustrates the complexities around collecting this information and also highlights the dangers of assuming that special educational needs (SENs) equate to disability. The parental survey revealed children with medical and mental health needs, but no SENs, who were unknown to schools. It also revealed children with a recorded SEN whose parents did not consider that they had a disability in line with the DDA definition. It identified a number of children whose disability leads to absences from school, making them vulnerable to underachievement. These findings highlight the importance of having appropriate tools with which to collect these data and developing procedures to support their effective use. We also draw attention to the contextual nature of children’s difficulties and the importance of retaining and respecting the place of subjective information. This is central to adopting a definition of disability that hinges on experience or impact.

Reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils: what support do parents want for their child?

Schools in England (as elsewhere in Europe) have a duty to promote equality for disabled people and make reasonable adjustments for disabled children. There is, however, a degree of uncertainty about how well-placed parents are addressed to use the legislation to ensure their child’s needs. This paper presents data drawn from a national questionnaire designed for schools to use to identify their disabled pupils and examines, in detail, parental responses to a question on the kinds of support their child finds helpful in offsetting any difficulties they experience. It illustrates the complex and varied nature of the ‘reasonable adjustments’ that are required and an overriding sense that need to be underpinned by the values of a responsive child-centred approach, one that recognises that parents’ knowledge and understanding of their child are important. Schools need to have in place the two-way communication process that supports them in ‘knowing’ about the visible and invisible challenges that pupils with difficulties and disabilities face in participating in school life.

Early literacy and home visiting during the reception year: supporting ‘difficult to reach’ families

Intervening early when young children experience difficulties with literacy has been highlighted strongly in recent international research, particularly for children from families who live in areas marked by poverty. This study, based in two schools, was designed to support four children judged to be most at risk of struggling with literacy through the provision of weekly home visits (and some extra support in class) during their first year at school. The evidence that the children benefited from this form of intervention is discussed, and it is suggested that the home visiting intervention framework adopted in this study is useful for helping ‘difficult to reach’ families.

Supporting schools in identifying and safeguarding the needs of disabled children: the challenges for data collection

Conceptualisations of disability that emphasise the contextual and cultural nature of disability and the embodiment of these within a national system of data collection present a number of challenges especially where this process is devolved to schools. The requirement for measures based on contextual and subjective experiences gives rise to particular difficulties in achieving parity in the way data is analysed and reported. This paper presents an account of the testing of a tool intended for use by schools as they collect data from parents to identify children who meet the criteria of disability established in Disability Discrimination Acts (DDAs). Data were validated through interviews with parents and teachers and observations of children and highlighted the pivotal role of the criterion of impact. The findings are set in the context of schools meeting their legal duties to identify disabled children and their support needs in a way that captures the complexity of disabled children’s school lives and provides useful and useable data.