Parental Perspectives of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Transitioning From Primary to Secondary School in the United Kingdom

Transferring from mainstream primary to secondary school can be especially problematic for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Two groups of parents (nine pretransition and six posttransition parents) contributed to this 15-month-long study. Perceptions of the pretransition group were captured through focus groups and in-depth interviews at three critical times: before transition, one term in, and after a full year of secondary schooling. The posttransition group provided retrospective perceptions. The data, coded using a grounded theory approach, confirmed that transition was problematic in the first year, although there were signs of integration by the second year of secondary school. The establishment of friendship groups and peer acceptance appeared to be the key criteria for successful transition.