Background: As autism identification continues to rise both in Ireland and around the world, there is increasing recognition of the need for inclusive and individualised educational planning. In particular, the transition between or within educational settings can pose significant challenges for autistic students. Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) is a person-centred tool that may support students during these transitions. Grounded in the principles of the neurodiversity movement, PATH promotes a collaborative, strength-based approach that is responsive to the individual needs of autistic students.
Aims: This study aims to explore the experiences of autistic students, their parent, teacher and National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) psychologist in using the PATH process to support transition planning.
Case Selection: Two cases were selected to facilitate literal replication. Each case comprised a NEPS psychologist, a teacher, a parent and an autistic post-primary school student.
Methods: An explanatory two-case study design was employed, guided by Yin’s (2018) methodology. Five propositions were developed using Activity Theory (Engeström, 1999) as a conceptual framework. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. Reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) was used to identify key themes (Braun & Clarke, 2021).
Results: RTA identified key themes relating to participants’ perceived effectiveness of the PATH process. The themes generated highlighted the importance of the facilitator’s role and skills, the student’s voice being central to the process and the impact of teamwork or tensions on collaboration in the process. Pattern matching was subsequently conducted to compare empirical findings with the case propositions. Both primary and secondary contradictions were identified, revealing significant areas of focus for policy and practice.
Conclusions: The findings extend the limited empirical literature on the use of PATH within educational contexts. Results are discussed in relation to implications for school practice, educational psychology practice, future research and policy development.
