It is evident from the currently available literature that while the voice of the young person is being increasingly included both in legislation and in policy, it has only recently become a priority area in academic research (Bryony et al., 2004). Research into transitions predominantly focuses on the transition of young people from primary to secondary school for typically developing children, and increasingly for children with ASD (Evangelou, Taggart, Sylva, Melhuish, & Sammons, 2008; Saggers, 2015; Stoner, Angell, House, & Bock, 2007). Although many of the studies that will be critically reviewed in this section do not directly examine the transition of young people with ASD into FE college, they provide useful insight into what supports or prevents
effective transitions into FE college and the experiences of individuals within this setting.
A study conducted by Camarena and Sarigiani (2009) explored the
perspectives of families on their post-secondary-school aspirations for high- functioning young people with ASD aged between 12 and 18 years. The authors carried out interviews which included semi-structured and rating scale questions with young people (n=21) and their parents (n=33; 20 mothers and 13 fathers). 11 interviews were completed with the young person, mother and father trios, 9 child–mother pairs and 1 child–father pair. The main themes reported from this study were: (1) post-education goals; (2) perceived obstacles to college success; (3) recommended support to help college transition. With regards to post-education goals, the majority of parents reported that they wanted their son/daughter to move on to FE college after leaving school. Mothers (45%) were more likely to report that their child was more suited to a vocational college programme in comparison to young people (29%) or fathers (17%). The authors explained this
difference by suggesting that mothers are more likely to consider options and to set goals that they think are realistic or a best fit. With regards to perceived obstacles, families regarded both academic and non-academic situations as potential obstacles to their young person’s transition into FE college. Young people frequently spoke about academic obstacles (coursework and curriculum requirements) that could prevent them from getting into college or that they felt might prevent them from keeping up with the pace of learning. Conversely, parents reported concerns about what accommodations and support their young person would receive in FE college, such as note takers or extra time on exams and assignments. In addition, many parents expressed the view that colleges had a limited
availability of programmes that matched their son’s or daughter’s talents or interests. Finally, with regards to recommended support, families suggested that young people could be supported further in their academic work if provided with assistive technology, given increased time to complete tests and assignments and a quiet environment for assessment. In addition, it was perceived as beneficial for colleges to employ social mentors to help young people to engage in the social aspects of college life. A strength of this study is that perspectives were obtained from both the young person as well as their parents. However, a limitation is that the authors had included scaling questions within the young people’s interview schedule: for example, ‘How important is it to you to attend a college of some sort after high school?’ (Carmarena and Sarigiani, 2009, p. 118). Then the young person had to rate their experiences on a seven-point Likert scale. However, this method might not be appropriate to use with all young people with ASD who may have difficulties interpreting language and quantifying their experiences
(Beresford et al., 2004). In addition, using Likert scale questions does not allow participants to talk freely about their experiences (King & Horrocks, 2010). A further limitation of this study is that young people’s interviews were often conducted in the presence of one or both parents, which may have biased responses (Beresford et al. 2004).
In 2013, Beresford and colleagues conducted a study, on behalf of the Department of Health, to explore the transition process of young people with HFA or Asperger’s syndrome into adult services and the cost of services that support the transitions of young people, within five LAs across England. The authors utilised mixed methods and collected data through postal surveys and semi-structured interviews with young people (n=18), their parents (n=36) and the managers and/or practitioners who represented statutory and
non-statutory transitions services (n=68). Data was collected from two groups of young people; the pre-transition group were 16–18-year-olds who were on the cusp of leaving school, and the post-transition group were 19– 21-year-olds who had recently left school. These young people’s transitions included the following post-16 provisions: into further education,
employment, training or adult services. The key findings from this study were that young people felt more able to contribute to decisions about their
transition when adults provided information in a simplified format.
Additionally, the participants reported that they felt it was useful when they were able to visit or to attend taster sessions during the planning and
decision-making stages of their transition into FE college. Many of the young people also reported that they found it unhelpful when their key contact at FE college had limited ASD awareness and made assumptions about their needs based on general ASD characteristics. After transitioning into FE college, many of the young people described feeling more included in college than they did in school; for example, they emphasised having more social opportunities than those experienced at secondary school. Beresford et al. (2013) found that parents of young people with a statement of SEN reported that they valued having a transition planning meeting prior to their son’s or daughter’s transition, as this document clearly outlined their child’s strengths and needs all in one place. Further findings from the parents’ perspective highlighted that there is a lack of consistency and transparency amongst LAs as to what transition services young people with ASD are entitled to and at which point professionals should become involved. The majority of parents and transition services agreed that the use of PCP in transition meetings leads to joint working and a holistic view of the young person. The themes raised from this study provide some insight into the transition experience from children’s to adult services, which included the
views of young people about their transition into FE college that need to be explored further. An advantage of this study was its large sample size, and that participants were recruited from several LAs. Furthermore, the authors had sought multiple perspectives, which included the views of professionals representing a range of services including health, social care and education. A possible methodological flaw of this study is that the interviews with young people were conducted either by phone or in the family home in the
presence of their parents. It is possible that more in-depth interviews could have been achieved if face-to-face interviews were carried out with young people in their preferred place or a neutral location (Beresford et al., 2013). A further critique of this study pertains to the sample used in this study, Beresford et al. (2013) only included the views of young people with ASD who were higher-functioning or had a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome and therefore the findings from this study may not be representative of young people across the ASD spectrum. This means the experiences and
perspectives of young people with ASD with varying level of need have not been captured in this study. The second sampling issue is the fact the authors included a different group of young people within the pre-transition phase to those included within the post-transition phase of this study. Furthermore, the young people in the post-transition phase had transitioned into either further education, training or work, which makes it difficult to decipher whether the differences in experiences are due to these group differences.
In the same year, McGukin et al. (2013) carried out a longitudinal qualitative study in Ireland on behalf of the National Council for Special Education Research. Here, the authors collected data at two points in time, and they interviewed young people with SEN (including young people with ASD)
within the pre-transition phase (n=42) and again in the post-transition phase (n=23). Additional information was obtained by interviewing the educational professionals supporting the transition (n=28) in a focus group. The key finding of this study was that the young people felt isolated in college due to experiencing ongoing difficulties with making friends. Additionally, the young people reported that they preferred receiving support from a mentor during their breaks rather than having a teacher assistant working with them in the classroom; they felt that the former reduced the likelihood of being bullied and allowed them to blend in with their peers. The professionals interviewed suggested that the main barrier to young people’s transition into FE college is the long application process colleges tend to have. Furthermore,
professionals reported that during the application process many families do not disclose their young person’s SEN, making it difficult for colleges to plan or to meet the young person’s needs post-transition. The main advantage of this study is that it provides an in-depth overview of the transition process by interviewing the same young people pre- and post-transition. Conversely it is limited by the lack of parental input (n=2), as due to poor recruitment on this front, the authors decided not to include their views. Parents make an important contribution in improving our understanding of this transition process and should be included in subsequent studies. Furthermore, this study took place in Ireland and it is possible that different findings will be yielded in the UK (McGukin et al., 2013).
Finally, in 2014 Mitchell and Beresford (2014) conducted a qualitative study by interviewing 18 young people who had a diagnosis of ASD (specifically those with higher-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome) and were aged between 15 and 21. The accounts of the participants were taken from a wider study (already discussed) conducted by Beresford et al. (2013) and
specifically focused on the factors that support the smooth transition of young people into further education. From the young people’s perspective their transition into FE college was improved by the following support systems: (1) support from their parents with organising and planning their transition; (2) emotional support in the form of someone to talk to prior to their transition; (3) the support of professionals to help them plan for leaving school and being provided with information; (4) support from parents when deciding on post-16 provisions; (5) co-ordination between school, college staff and statutory services to help plan and to make arrangements to meet academic needs. The young people had also reported that receiving travel training helped to prepare them for their move to college. This study focused specifically on the views of young people with ASD, which improves on the sample size of previous studies; however, the authors only included the views of young people with ASD who were higher-functioning. To be able to inform FE college staff and LA practice it is important to include a range of views from young people with varying communication needs (Mitchell & Beresford, 2014).