Just me, the bee and the iPad:Listening to stories told by mothers of children with autism who have experienced school exclusion

My research highlights the practice of exclusion, its impact on children with autism and considers how these events have been experienced by mothers. Such exclusions have increased by sixty per cent in England since 2011 (Ambitious about Autism, 2018). Alongside this, there are numerous concerns about the adverse impact exclusions have on the outcomes for these children (Gazeley, Marrable, Brown & Boddy, 2015; Gill, Quilter-Pinner & Swift, 2017). As children with autism are over-represented in the statistics, they are more vulnerable to these harmful ramifications. Three mothers tell their stories illustrating the complex forces impacting on them and their families. I employ a qualitative narrative methodology to privilege their voice and adopt feminist principles. The narratives told were co-created using unstructured narrative interviews. Narrative interviews allow an appreciation of how people make sense of themselves and their experience (Bruner, 2004). The narratives were analysed using Brown and Gilligan’s Listening Guide (1993). A critical realist perspective is taken which accepts knowledge is created as a product of interpretation and social construction (Morton, 2006). In my analysis and discussion, I consider what characterises these stories. I reflect on issues of power, the traumatising effects of power and oppression, and the mothers’ attempts to mitigate and advocate for their child in the face of such power. I conclude with recommendations on how these stories can be used to guide the work of Educational Psychologists. Key Words: exclusion, autism, mothers, qualitative, narrative, power, trauma