Listening to Unheard Voices: Examining the Daily Transition between Home and School for Young Autistic Girls

Barker, Miranda (2026) Listening to Unheard Voices: Examining the Daily Transition between Home and School for Young Autistic Girls. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

Mainstream primary schools can be overwhelming places for autistic girls with many camouflaging in response to these busy, sensory stimulating and socially demanding environments. Conforming in this way to meet the expectations of mainstream environments, results in poor mental health, low self-esteem and lost learning.

This emancipatory research explores the daily home-to-school transition to examine this embodied transformation, drawing upon the experiences of four young autistic girls, their parents and their teachers, thus addressing a paucity of research. Data collection utilised drawing and talking interviews with the girls and walking interviews with parents and teachers, thus enabling participants, through critical dialogue, to reflect, co-construct and share insights of this daily transition.

Findings reveal that in moving between home and school, external presentations of these girls became more muted, as they sought to ‘fit in,’ hide or as a form of ‘armouring’. Influential moments in the transition included dressing for school and crossing boundaries, where negotiating sensory demanding spaces, anxiety around surveillance and adjusting to the pace of others were all challenging. Difficulties in switching focus, managing micro-transitions, and sensory processing necessitated additional time and flexibility from parents and school staff.

Across the study, participants shared the importance of friendship for validation and protection but also the need for adults to be sensitive and attune themselves to the girls’ needs and support with co-regulation, particularly when crossing boundaries. Where autistic girls might have historically be viewed as having limited agency, each participant found ways to disrupt, resist and have their needs met across the transition. The responsiveness of the girls to side-by-side research methods further emphasises the importance of creative approaches to listen and respond to previously unheard voices in research and practice.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 3 August 2026 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Autism, Girls, Transition, Emancipatory, Drawing Interviews, Walking Interviews
Subjects:	CAH04 - psychology > CAH04-01 - psychology > CAH04-01-04 - psychology and health CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-01 - education
Divisions:	Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Law and Social Sciences > Education
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	04 Aug 2026 15:48
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2026 15:48
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17145

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