Narrative Experiences of Young People with Autism who Experience Anxiety Related to Attending School.

Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) research is a growing area of interest within psychology, however current research in this area does not account for the complexity of the issues (Knage, 2021) and within the literature, EBSA is rarely linked to autism. Despite this, there seem to be similarities between the risk factors for EBSA and the difficulties that autistic young people can face. In addition, the literature related to EBSA rarely includes the voice of young people in a meaningful way. This study aims to learn more about the experiences of young people who have a diagnosis of autism and who also have experienced anxiety related to attending school. I have conducted three narrative interviews during which the young people had the opportunity to recount stories related to their experience in mainstream school, their experience of special school and their experience of transitioning between the two.

This research provided the opportunity for young people to contribute to knowledge in a meaningful way and to have a voice within the literature (Lundy, 2007). The findings of this study indicate that the young people who were interviewed were not empowered to contribute to decisions about which school they would attend. In their mainstream schools, all the young people described being bullied, however this stopped after they moved schools. The young people reported high levels of anxiety at their mainstream schools and this anxiety seemed to move with them to their new schools. The research has implications for teaching staff, educational psychologists and for future research. The importance of providing young people with safe space where their voices can be heard, and needs and feelings understood and acted upon, is emphasised. Educational psychologists are well placed to support and train school staff to do this effectively.