Exploring the potential of the Autism Practice Improvement Framework (APIF) to support autistic pupils' educational experiences and inclusion.

Scotland's Government has begun to address the issue of autistic pupils' rights to inclusive education not being upheld as well as the negative impact this has on their well-being (Children in Scotland et al., 2018; CPG, 2020, Scot Gov, 2021a). Despite this commitment, there is a continued disconnect between educators' autism knowledge and practice (Ferriday & Cantali, 2020; Rudoe, 2020; Wilson et al., 2016). Time constraints, lack of resources and inadequate training have been documented as reasons for this gap (Ravet, 2018). Inability to fully access education has an acute impact on autistic individuals' life outcomes (Scottish Executive, 2004a). Negative school experiences devastatingly impact autistic young people's mental health to such an extent that an increasing number of individuals are experiencing suicidal ideation (Brede et al., 2017; Children in Scotland et al., 2018; Martin-Denham, 2022). Educators have expressed the need for specialist input and training (McKinlay et al. 2022), whilst the Scottish Government has committed to facilitating knowledge distribution of quality practice to support ongoing professional development of educators (Scot Gov, 2021b).
The Autism Practice Improvement Framework (APIF) is a key instrument utilised by Scottish Autism to ensure high-quality autism-specific practice in a range of settings, but it has not previously been utilised in mainstream secondary schools.
Therefore, this project aims to investigate to what extent the APIF could support educators to evolve their autism practice, safeguard autistic pupils' right to inclusion and protect their well-being.
Research Questions:
1. What are autistic young people's perspectives on how the APIF can be adapted to meet their needs in mainstream schools?
2. What are educators' and autism specialists' perspectives on how the APIF can be adapted to support practice in mainstream schools?
3. To what extent can the implementation of the APIF in school lead to improved autism-specific adaptations to education practice and learning environments; teacher self-efficacy, pupil inclusion and wellbeing?