| dc.description.abstract | This project looks at the stigmatisation of parents that are raising a child with Autism Spectrum
Disorder. From utilising semi-structured interviews this project was able to analyse the thoughts and
experiences of individuals who have raised a child with Autism. A sample size of 5 participants were
recruited for this project. Through analysing Goffman’s writings (1963) the project was able to grasp
the negative emotions that many parents had attached towards particular public sectors, one of which
was secondary school education. By adopting Goffman’s work, it was clear to see that particular
fields such as education needs improvement to correctly facilitate children with Autism Spectrum
Disorder. Through conducting semi-structured interviews and utilising a grounded theory approach
(Strauss, 1968) particular themes began to emerge from the data, in particular; stigmatisation, schools
and facilities, barriers and the future. Captivatingly, the study found that further training would be
beneficial for teachers within secondary education in order to provide the correct level of support for
children with autism. Support services and play schemes such as ‘Number 6’ (that offer a safe area
where children with additional support needs can go to socialise with others) should be viewed as a
role model in which society and public fields such as education should follow, as many play schemes
were talked highly of by all participants. | en |
