| Summary: | The education of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been
subject to debate for a number of years, particularly following the international
commitment to inclusive education. In Ireland students with
ASD have access to a continuum of provision which affords them the opportunity
to attend a mainstream school, a special school or a special
class within a mainstream school. This study sought to obtain the voices
of students with ASD in order to gain a more in depth understanding of
their experiences in an ASD class within a mainstream school. Four students
with ASD took part in this qualitative study, sharing their experiences
through drawings, semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation
interviews. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to examine
the data and the findings demonstrate their experiences are predominantly
positive, furthermore it became apparent the participants viewed the
school as a whole as having a positive influence on their experiences.
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