Social Participation for Inclusion: Proposal and Evaluation of Its Indicators in Ordinary Schools with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Based on our definition, social participation as a central dimension in inclusive education implies knowing whether students, especially the most vulnerable, "form part" of the group by relating in a positive and beneficial way with their peers and, consequently, can "feel part", which will be reflected in their well-being. This study aims to evaluate the social participation through of peer support and peer victimisation (taken as positive and negative indicator respectively), and its relationship with the perceived well-being of students belonging to schools where there are schoolmates with ASD enrolled throughout different educational stages. To this end, 404 students from Primary Education to Baccalaureate participated in this study. To collect the information, three questionnaires were adapted and used. The results show that the frequency of social support is higher than average in all courses although more girls than boys care about their peers. The frequency of peer abuse is in line with that found in similar studies, but social exclusion is higher in groups with students with ASD of Year 11, coinciding in this course a lower well-being perceived. This underlines the need to pay special attention to the secondary stage and go beyond seeking the acceptance of the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]