PGCE Research Bites 17 - Supporting participation of pupils with autism in PE with Meredith Bawks and Dr Sally Bethell

For our latest episode of PGCE Research Bites, Dr. Sally Bethell is joined by Meredith Bawks from our PGCE Secondary PE programme. Meredith's research was sparked by seeing a pupil with autism in her PE class who was distressed and unable to participate in the lesson. Meredith saw an opportunity to put her assignment to good use in looking for strategies to support her pupil, and today's presentation is the result.

Meredith's recommendations are relevant to subjects across the curriculum, and it's especially good to see Meredith presenting today, as she was a Research Bites viewer before coming on the PGCE programme, and wasn't expecting to be called up to contribute!

Thanks to Meredith for making her visual summary available, which you can download here.

If you'd like to see the video version of this episode, you can head over to our YouTube channel, Professional Learning with the Cardiff Partnership.

Meredith's main sources are:

Dillon, G.V., Underwood, J.D. and Freemantle, L.J. (2016) “Autism and the U.K. Secondary School Experience,” Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 31(3), pp. 221–230.

Lamb, P., Firbank, D. and Aldous, D. (2014) “Capturing the world of physical education through the eyes of children with autism spectrum disorders,” Sport, Education and Society, 21(5), pp. 698–722.

Grenier, M. (2014) “Accessing the Curriculum Through the Inclusion Spectrum,” in Physical Education for students with autism spectrum disorders: A comprehensive approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, pp. 17–25.

Houston-Wilson, C. (2022) “Chapter 10 - Autism Spectrum and Social Communication Disorders,” in J.P. Winnick and D.L. Porretta (eds) Adapted Physical Education and Sport. 7th edn. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, Inc., pp. 195–212.

Dieringer, S.T. et al. (2017) “Increasing physical activity in children with autism through music, prompting, and modeling,” Psychology in the Schools, 54(4), pp. 421–432

Gordon, V. and Pennington, C.G. (2022) “Tips for including individuals with autism in Physical Education,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 93(1), pp. 58–60.

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Recorded in studio B2.16 at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed Campus on 17th March 2023