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Recent research indicates that the transition from primary to secondary school is an important step in students' lives. Although this step is often expected to be even more challenging for autistic students, there are new hints that the transition could also be an opportunity and not necessarily a negative period. Sixteen autistic students in France were interviewed three times during their first year of secondary school (6th grade) regarding their transition to secondary school. They presented a positive self-image and preferred secondary school over primary school for various reasons. They focused on their everyday life in secondary school rather than problematising the transition, which in most cases had been planned and prepared by the adults in their life. Their positive experiences and unique views on the transition and the first year of secondary school could contribute to a more optimistic and inclusive transition planning. Therefore, the study provides original accounts from a group of participants who are often neither involved in transition planning nor in transition research.

The transition from primary to secondary school is a challenge, particularly for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). International studies report the perceptions and experiences of different involved stakeholders during the primary-secondary transition in this specific context. Since the 1980s, the French education system has put in place mechanisms to promote inclusive education. The research takes place in this context in order to contribute to the corpus of international studies. French students with ASD and their parents were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences regarding the transition. The semi-structured interviews were analysed through qualitative content analysis. The findings identify the perceptions of the different participants, as well as useful strategies and typical obstacles. However, the uniqueness of each case does not allow for one-size-fits-all recommendations, but rather to tailor the transition planning and procedure for each involved stakeholder.

After being wrongfully blamed for their child's disturbances, French parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are now perceived as essential partners of care professionals. This shift in perspective has encouraged the development of parent training programs in the field of autism. In this paper, we present three programs currently implemented in France for parents of a child with ASD. We investigated their social validity, from the parents' perspective. All three programs showed good social validity: attendance rate was good and parents were satisfied. In France, like elsewhere, more parents should be given the opportunity to participate in such programs to help them deal with the specific challenges of raising a child with ASD.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of explicit instruction, compared to constructivist instruction, in teaching subtraction in schools with a high concentration of students from a disadvantaged social background: eighty-seven second graders (mean age in months = 90.95, SD = 5.30). Two groups received explicit versus constructivist instruction during 5 weeks. Pre- and posttest analyses were conducted to compare the effects of the instruction type on subtraction skills taught through the partitioning subtraction method. Results showed that although all students progressed between both evaluations, those who received explicit instruction performed better. The findings from this study suggest that explicit instruction teaching is a promising approach in supporting the learning of mathematical knowledge for low-achieving students from disadvantaged social background. A larger scale study comparing the outcomes of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds would be needed to extend the applicability of the positive effects of this study.

Whilst the prevalence of autistic students attending university in France is increasing, limited research has explored the experiences of university professors and disability support staff in French higher education. The current study sought to fill this gap in the literature using a qualitative research design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 university staff members (14 university professors, 8 disability support office staff, 4 ‘other support professionals’). Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Six main themes were identified: (1) Taking a holistic approach, (2) Adapting communication, (3) Relying on intuition, (4) What diagnosis? (5) The benefits of inclusion and (6) Navigating levels of support. Themes describe how participants engaged autistic students in higher education, their challenges, and their successes. Whilst professionals sought to provide personalised support to students, the analysis indicates more training and support is required as university staff reported a range of difficulties supporting autistic students at university. Results from the current study can contribute to the development of policy and practice with regard to the implementation of inclusive practices in French higher education. Of note, participants highlighted the need to access more holistic support from a range of professionals in addition to further training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]