Three papers based on ACoRNS research have been published recently. All reflect the ACoRNS focus of accessing and respecting children’s views and perspectives, and all are open access meaning that anyone can read them.
The paper published in the Journal of Early Childhood Research discusses our Digital Stories methodology for accessing the views of pre-school autistic children. In this work, we developed a strengths-based approach to supporting children’s transitions through creating short videos that provide a holistic sense of children’s likes, preferences and ways of communicating. The paper is co-authored with the Nursery Manager at Aviary Nursery in Eastleigh, Kathryn Ivil.
A second paper, published in the Educational Review and also co-authored with Kathryn, presents a model of working collaboratively in early years education to co-create the evidence base with autistic children, families and practitioners. The paper provides important evidence that the Digital Stories research is already making an impact on practice.
Our third paper, published in the European Journal of Special Needs Education, is co-written with Kate Buckingham at Springwell School and based on the impact prize-winning undergraduate dissertation research of Amber Warren that was also co-constructed with practice. The paper presents findings from research that explored the views of autistic children accessing resourced provision at Primary school and the teachers who support them. It presents a simple and accessible ‘storyboard’ method for accessing children’s views, and shows how listening to those views can impact positively on practice and experiences.