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Article
Publication date: 8 February 2021

Roy McConkey, Marie-Therese Cassin, Rosie McNaughton and Elaine Armstrong

This paper aims to design and evaluate an innovative community-based service for adults with autism in a rural region of Northern Ireland. The goal was to reduce their social…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to design and evaluate an innovative community-based service for adults with autism in a rural region of Northern Ireland. The goal was to reduce their social isolation through gaining social skills and building social networks.

Design/methodology/approach

Over three years, 54 persons with a median age of 21 years received 12 months of one-to-one, personalised support and opportunities to participate in peer groups and social activities which are detailed in the paper. Quantitative and qualitative information about the impact of the service was obtained from its users, their relatives, as well as service personnel.

Findings

Service users rated themselves to have changed in more ways than did their relatives and staff although there was a consensus that the changes were most marked in terms of spending more time out of the house, engaging in more community activities, being more independent and increased confidence. The main benefits they perceived from participation in the project were socialising, new experiences and learning new things.

Research limitations/implications

As with many service projects, a longer term follow-up of service users was not possible due to resource constraints.

Practical implications

The service could be replicated with suitable staff although current constraints on social care budgets have limited its expansion to more users and extension to other areas in Northern Ireland.

Social implications

Reducing the social isolation of adult persons with autism spectrum disorders needs to be personalised to the person, their living circumstances and the community in which they live. Family carers also stand to gain from community support services.

Originality/value

This low level, low cost service was implemented in a predominantly rural area with a majority of users from socially deprived areas.

Details

Advances in Autism, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3868

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Book part
Publication date: 9 June 2023

Frances Rust and Christopher M. Clark

This brief history of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT) documents developments and trends during the decade 2013–2023. To situate recent ISATT…

Abstract

This brief history of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT) documents developments and trends during the decade 2013–2023. To situate recent ISATT history, we begin with an overview of the association's first 30 years (1983–2012). The dominant theme of those early years was developing ISATT as a recognized and influential professional organization connecting researchers on teaching and teacher education from a growing list of nations and regions of the world. During the most recent decade, there has been a concerted effort toward broad internationalization through biennial conferences and regional meetings, and a growing network of national representatives from across the world. Also, the ISATT journal, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, the journal, which began in 1995, has published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles written by more than 1000 authors and coauthors, contributing to a growing body of knowledge about teaching and teacher education in many cultures. In the last 20 years and especially in the past 10, the locations of ISATT meetings have become significantly more diverse, following a trend of greater internationalization compared with ISATT's European and North American beginnings. At the same time, the number of ISATT members remains stable and small thereby preserving a collegial and collaborative tone in our exchanges. In sum, ISATT's recent decade finds the association intellectually healthy, successful in managing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and enriched by the proliferation of multinational points of view and styles of research.

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