Analysis of social participation in adolescents with autism in high school settings

A BOLD Cities consortium of Alexander Koutamanis (MBE), Carolien Rieffe (Leiden University), and Els Blijd (Interpsy Groningen) has received a € 500.000,- NWO grant to develop new tools for the analysis and briefing of school building designs.

Teenagers with autism are often socially isolated and thus have less access to a social learning environment. Yet, essential social and emotional skills are developed through interaction with peers; by trial and error young people learn how to behave in a group, negotiate, make up after an argument, among other skills. This is where youngsters with autism miss out, which contributes to their social and emotional difficulties throughout life. In addition to valuable insights into the social and cultural aspects of school communities, the research aims to develop new tools for the analysis and briefing of school building designs.