Special autism session at INTED 2016 – Call for Papers (now closed)

Supporting and enhancing the undergraduate experience for students with autism and related conditions.

A special session at the 10th annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED), held 7-9 March 2016 in Valencia, Spain (http://iated.org/inted/). We invite proposals for this special paper session, which seeks to showcase and discuss the latest research and best practice in supporting and enhancing the undergraduate experience of students with autism (and related conditions such as ADHD,  dyspraxia, sensory processing disorders and dyslexia) of normal or higher intelligence who are studying in mainstream education.  The session will consist of 4 papers lasting 15 minutes each, followed by a 30 minute discussion, and aims to foster international cooperation and debate. We particularly focus on the experience of undergraduate students as this group is underrepresented in the literature. This session welcomes proposals from researchers and practitioners at any stage of their career, and also from people with lived experience of autism and related conditions.

Session topics

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Specialist assistive technologies to support learning for students with these conditions
• Development of resources and activities to aid transitions between different educational stages
• Usage and accessibility of mainstream technologies and services such as learning management systems or smartphone apps
• Participatory approaches to research and design with and for autistic students
• Inclusive practice in libraries, learning technology and learning and teaching services
• Self-advocacy and informed decision making
• Curriculum design and reasonable adjustments

Submission guidance

Please send an abstract of your paper to Penny Andrews (P.C.Andrews@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) by Sunday 29 November 2015. Your abstract should be no longer than 3500 characters including spaces. Please do not include any tables, graphs or images. All abstracts must be written in English.

Your abstract will be reviewed for its quality and how it fits within the special session. We will notify you of acceptance or rejection during the first week of January 2016. If your abstract has been accepted, you need to submit your full paper by 21 January 2016. We will publish formatting instructions with the acceptance notifications. There is a limit of 10 pages for full papers.

Organisers

Marc Fabri (Leeds Beckett University, UK)
Penny Andrews (Leeds Beckett University, UK)
Debra Satterfield (California State University Long Beach, USA)

Marc and Penny are involved in the Autism&Uni project which aims to widen access to Higher Education for young adults on the autism spectrum. A key project outcome will be an interactive toolkit that helps students navigate the transition from school to university, and cope with the challenges of the first few months of study. Autistic people are involved in the project at all stages. Penny is also an Ambassador for the National Autistic Society and campaigns on issues affecting adults with autism.

Debra researches the role of experience design in improving the lives of children and adults with autism. Her most recent work identifies the presence of autism in university student populations and identifies best practices for curriculum design and course content delivery with regard to improving experiences in higher education for these students.