We are investigating new ways of using shared video stories to support participation of autistic individuals in their health, education and social care at times of transition, and including children and young people who may not yet use spoken language.

Full information and example stories are on the way.....

Our ESRC-funded project had two parts:

Time for Autism (with Brighton and Sussex Medical School): Dr Samantha Holt is working with the medical school Time for Autism scheme. This scheme incorporates autism awareness and understanding into medical student training, with the students making home visits to families with an autistic member. Dr Holt is working with 3 families for them to co-create videos showcasing interests, preferences and strengths, and similarly with medical students creating 'Who I am' videos, to be shaed before their home visit.

Just Right (with Sadie Gillett, Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service): Just Right is an emotion regulation scheme developed and implemented across schools in Brighton & Hove. It focuses on using calming techniques to support moment-to-moment transitions in the school settings, supporting all children to be ready to learn. Devyn Glass is working with young autistic people in a local secondary school to sdupport them creating 'How I feel' stories to express how they manage transitions between spaces in school.

Both projects produced toolkits and methods which may be used more widely, to support increased understanding of the strengths and adaptations used by different groups in accessing education and healthcare.

Our current work developing these ideas further:

We are currently piloting toolkits for (i) autistic students in mainstream schooling, (ii) for families providing information for better support of their child's healthcare and social care provision and (iii) autistic students' transition to university life. We are also exploring use of stories to address quality of life in older autistic adults, led by Hannah Viner at the University of Luxembourg.