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Press representations of autism and autistic people both reflect and help shape public attitudes towards autism and neurodiversity and may establish critical barriers to social integration for autistic individuals. This study examined such representations in UK newspapers in the period 2011-2020 using a corpus-based approach. It also considered how press representations changed over time and differed with regard to reporting style (tabloids vs broadsheets) and political orientation (left- vs right-leaning). We created the "Autism UK Press Corpus," which included all documents ([approximately]24K) referring to autism in 10 national newspapers. We used document counts (normalised by newspaper size) to assess the 'newsworthiness' of autism. We also employed a synergy of corpus-based and critical-discourse-analysis methodologies to study lexicogrammatical patterns and uncover explicit and implicit attitudes towards autism. Our results showed that the coverage of autism increased slightly over time, especially in broadsheets and left-leaning newspapers. Newspapers emphasised adversities associated with autism, often used negative language, and tended to focus on boys. These representations shifted gradually towards more difference-based descriptions and included more diverse age/gender groups, especially in broadsheets and left-leaning newspapers. We discuss the broad implications of these findings for the autism community and those interested in a more inclusive society.

Press representations of autism and autistic people both reflect and help shape public attitudes towards autism and neurodiversity and may establish critical barriers to social integration for autistic individuals. This study examined such representations in UK newspapers in the period 2011–2020 using a corpus-based approach. It also considered how press representations changed over time and differed with regard to reporting style (tabloids vs broadsheets) and political orientation (left- vs right-leaning). We created the Autism UK Press Corpus, which included all documents (~24K) referring to autism in 10 national newspapers. We used document counts (normalised by newspaper size) to assess the 'newsworthiness' of autism. We also employed a synergy of corpus-based and critical-discourse-analysis methodologies to study lexicogrammatical patterns and uncover explicit and implicit attitudes towards autism. Our results showed that the coverage of autism increased slightly over time, especially in broadsheets and left-leaning newspapers. Newspapers emphasised adversities associated with autism, often used negative language, and tended to focus on boys. These representations shifted gradually towards more difference-based descriptions and included more diverse age/gender groups, especially in broadsheets and left-leaning newspapers. We discuss the broad implications of these findings for the autism community and those interested in a more inclusive society. Any thriving society must recognise, accept and celebrate all of its diverse talent. But how accepting is British society towards autism and autistic people? This research addressed this question through the lens of the press since the press both reflects and helps shape public attitudes towards various social categories. We used specialised 'corpus-based' methods to carry out a large-scale study, which examined all articles referring to autism or autistic people in 10 national British newspapers in the period 2011–2020. We first investigated how often newspapers referred to autism. We found that the coverage of autism increased slightly over the years, suggesting that autism was becoming an increasingly newsworthy topic. Furthermore, the rise in autism coverage differed considerably between individual newspapers: it was more pronounced in the broadsheets than tabloids, and in left-leaning than right-leaning newspapers. But what was the focus of these articles? We found that newspapers emphasised the adversities associated with autism and portrayed autism with a lot of negative language. Newspapers also tended to focus on autistic children, and particularly on boys. There were some signs of change in more recent years, with some newspapers now representing autism as a difference and, in addition, referring to more diverse groups of autistic people. However, these changes tended to be confined to broadsheets and left-leaning newspapers. Our findings suggest that representations of autism in the contemporary British press are skewed towards stereotypically negative views, which may well hinder the acceptance of autism and the fostering of a more inclusive society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present review provides an original examination of published literature on the use of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) as an intervention for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Method: The review was systematically conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A protocol consisting of four phases: identification; screening and selection; data extraction and synthesis; quality assurance was developed and registered with the PROSPERO. A search strategy was developed using population and intervention as the key concepts and ten databases were searched between 6.1.2018 to 4.4.2018 and 10.07.2021 to 20.07.2021. The intervention characteristics were extracted based on the TIDieR template for intervention description and replication checklist. Quality assessment and level of evidence of all the included studies were evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) for treatment criteria. Results: Nine research studies with a total of 133 participants were identified through a systematic search process. There was only one mixed-methods study with the component of randomisation found during the literature search. Collected information was synthesised in relation to (a) ways in which dance movement psychotherapists work with children; (b) data collection methods and findings. Results from the reviewed literature suggest that DMP can potentially promote various aspects of well-being in children with ASD. Eight out of nine studies mentioned the effects of DMP on improving different social and communication skills. However, results from quality assessments and synthesised outcomes indicate that research in DMP is still in its infancy. Conclusions: We conclude that further large-scale, high-quality studies are required to generate further evidence that explains the processes involved in DMP, the effectiveness of DMP, the relationship between therapeutic factors of DMP, and research findings for children on the autism spectrum. Systematic Review Protocol Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42018087912. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sustaining the wellbeing for children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be highly demanding. Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP), a form of psychotherapy with a non-verbal character, may present as a relevant intervention option for this group of children. Methods: A protocol-based group DMP intervention was developed and implemented in two special educational needs schools in the North West of England. We aimed to investigate the effects of DMP on children with ASD using the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Twenty-six children aged between 8 and 13 years (mean age = 10.65 years) with ASD were randomly allocated to DMP and a control group with standard care, following a crossover research design. Results: Results showed no significant carryover or period effects for either the SCQ or SDQ (p > 0.05). A significant intervention effect was found only for SCQ (p = 0.005) but not for SDQ (p > 0.05). ANCOVAs were performed on the data before the crossover to test for differences in SCQ and SDQ scores between the DMP intervention and control groups while controlling for pre-intervention scores. Those in the DMP intervention group presented significantly lower SCQ scores following the intervention period than those in the control group (p = 0.001). No significant differences in post-intervention SDQ scores were found between DMP intervention and control groups (p = 0.2). However, minimal clinically important differences (MCID) were reached for both SCQ and SDQ measures before crossover for those in the DMP intervention group. Moreover, repeated measures ANOVAs performed on SCQ and SDQ measures following crossover were significant, with the change in both SCQ (p = 0.001) and SDQ (p = 0.009) pre-and post-intervention being significantly greater for those in the DMP intervention than the control group. Conclusion: The pilot DMP intervention has shown promising results on the social and emotional wellbeing of children with ASD irrespective of whether they preferred verbal or non-verbal mode of communication. Limitations and appropriateness of the research methods implemented in this study for their use in a large RCT are discussed in detail. Overall, our findings highlight the value of creative therapies for improving the lives of young vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]