Rose, Lucinda Frances;
(2025)
“I’m Sick of Misconceptions”: Understanding the Abilities of Non-speaking Autistic Children.
Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
One in 57 children in the UK has a diagnosis of autism and, of these, approximately 30% are likely to remain non-speaking. While a lack of speech can be an obstacle to curriculum access, it is not necessarily indicative of the pupil’s intelligence. Research and first-person accounts, written by non-speaking autistic people, strongly suggest that the abilities of autistic non-speakers are frequently unrecognised. In addition, a lack of appropriate communication support can prevent autistic non-speakers from challenging misconceptions about their abilities and potential. This thesis describes four studies designed to investigate opinions about the abilities of non-speaking autistic children. The design of this project and interpretation of results was informed by advice from non-speaking autistic consultants. A novel range of communication activities was devised and used with a group of non-speaking primary-aged autistic children. The same group was given the opportunity to attempt standardised tests of verbal and non-verbal ability, i.e. the Raven’s 2 Progressive Matrices (Raven’s 2) and the British Picture Vocabulary Scale 3 (BPVS 3). The views of parents/carers and staff were obtained using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Finally, six non-speaking autistic adult participant-advisors were consulted about their own experiences, their views on autism research, and their opinions about the early findings from the studies in this thesis. Findings from interviews and questionnaires, conducted with parents and staff, demonstrated the difficulties in forming an accurate picture of the children’s abilities. While children’s Raven’s 2 and BPVS3 scores were predominantly low, analysis of their engagement with tests and communication activities suggested that some barriers to testing may be unrelated to cognitive ability. Appropriate assessment of ability is essential to inform the selection of curricula and communication support and to enable non-speaking autistic children to realise their potential.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ed.D |
| Title: | “I’m Sick of Misconceptions”: Understanding the Abilities of Non-speaking Autistic Children |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10206983 |
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