Roberts Jacqueline Margaret Anne, Adams Dawn, Heussler Helen, Keen Deborah, Paynter Jessica, Trembath David, Westerveld Marleen, Williams Katrina
Autism Centre of Excellence, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith Univeristy, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
BMJ Open. 2018 Jan 23;8(1):e017082. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017082.
Autism is associated with high cost to individuals, families, communities and government. Understanding educational and participation trajectories during the school years, and factors influencing these, is fundamental to reducing financial and personal costs. The primary aim of this study is to document the trajectories of Australian students with autism during their education. The secondary aim is to examine personal (eg, student skills) and environmental (eg, school setting) factors associated with differing trajectories and outcomes.
The cross-sequential longitudinal study will recruit two cohorts of 120 parents/caregivers of children with autism. Cohort 1 aged between 4 and 5 years and cohort 2 between 9 and 10 years to start the study. Information will be gathered from parents, teachers and school principals at six annual time points (T1 to T6). Parents will be emailed a link to an online initial questionnaire (T1) and then contacted annually and asked to complete either an extended questionnaire (T3, T5 and T6) or an abbreviated questionnaire (T2, T4). Where consent is given, the child's current school will be contacted annually (T1 to T6) and teacher and school principal asked to complete questionnaires about the child and school. Parent and school questionnaires are comprised of questions about demographic and school factors that could influence trajectories and a battery of developmental and behavioural assessment tools designed to assess educational and participation trajectories and outcomes. Surveys will provide longitudinal data on educational and participation trajectories for children and adolescents with autism. In addition cross-sectional comparisons (within or between age groups) at each time point and cohort effects will be explored.
Ethics approvals have been granted for this study by all recruiting sites and universities in the project. Study findings will inform policy and practice to promote successful inclusion and participation of children with autism in education. Results will be disseminated through journal publication, conference and seminar presentation.
自闭症给个人、家庭、社区和政府带来了高昂的成本。了解学龄期的教育和参与轨迹以及影响这些轨迹的因素，对于降低经济和个人成本至关重要。本研究的主要目的是记录澳大利亚自闭症学生在其受教育期间的轨迹。次要目的是研究与不同轨迹和结果相关的个人因素（如学生技能）和环境因素（如学校环境）。
这项交叉序列纵向研究将招募两组各120名自闭症儿童的家长/照顾者。第一组年龄在4至5岁之间，第二组年龄在9至10岁之间开始参与研究。将在六个年度时间点（T1至T6）从家长、教师和学校校长那里收集信息。将通过电子邮件向家长发送在线初始问卷的链接（T1），然后每年联系并要求他们完成扩展问卷（T3、T5和T6）或简短问卷（T2、T4）。在获得同意的情况下，将每年联系孩子当前所在的学校（T1至T6），并要求教师和学校校长完成关于孩子和学校的问卷。家长问卷和学校问卷包括有关可能影响轨迹的人口统计学和学校因素的问题，以及一系列旨在评估教育和参与轨迹及结果的发育和行为评估工具。调查将提供自闭症儿童和青少年教育及参与轨迹的纵向数据。此外，还将探索每个时间点的横断面比较（年龄组内或年龄组间）以及队列效应。
本研究已获得项目中所有招募地点和大学的伦理批准。研究结果将为促进自闭症儿童成功融入教育并参与其中的政策和实践提供参考。结果将通过期刊发表、会议和研讨会报告进行传播。
