Thank you for your interest in this study!

You can find more information below. If you want to take part, please proceed to the next page where you will be asked for your digital consent.

Title of Project: What are the experiences of transition to mainstream secondary school for autistic girls and did it make a difference to their wellbeing?

Researcher: Cathy Wassell

Contact Email: cathy@clarem31.sg-host.com

You are being invited to take part in a study. Before you decide, it is important for you to understand why the work is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish.

Please contact the researchers if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part.

What is the purpose of this study? Studies have shown that transitions, and particularly the big transition to secondary school, are traumatic for autistic children. I would like to study what transition arrangements are being offered, see if they made a difference if your child was already diagnosed autistic and what could have been done better. I’d love to hear from your young people on what arrangements they think would have made an improved and successful transition.

Why have I been chosen? You have been invited to take part in this study because you are over 18 years old, and are a parent of an autistic child (aged 12 -18 years) in the UK.

Do I have to take part? It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part, you can download and keep this information sheet and can proceed to the next page where you will be asked to sign a digital consent form. If you decide to take part, you are still free to withdraw up to two weeks after completion without giving a reason.

What will happen to me if I take part? You will be asked to complete an online questionnaire which asks questions about your child’s secondary school transition, and any specific arrangements made for them. You will also be asked about the success of the transition and what could have been improved about that transition process. Finally, you’ll be asked if your young person would like to contribute their ideas about what would have made transition easier. This takes around 15 – 20 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers and all answers will be anonymous meaning nothing can be traced back to you.

What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part? There are no disadvantages or risks as a result of taking part.

What are the possible benefits of taking part? Your participation will help us understand the impact of secondary transition on autistic children’s wellbeing, and how to improve it.

What will happen to the results of the research study? The results of the project will be written up for for a Masters dissertation and used by Autistic Girls Network for campaign and grant-funding impact.

Data Protection Privacy Notice

The data controller for this project will be University of Birmingham and Autistic Girls Network. The University of Birmingham Data Protection Office provides oversight of activities involving the processing of personal data, and can be contacted at: dataprotection@contacts.bham.ac.uk. Autistic Girls Network Data Protection Office can be contacted at : hello@clarem31.sg-host.com

Your personal data will be processed for the purposes outlined in this notice. The legal basis that would be used to process your personal data will be the provision of your consent. Your personal data will be processed so long as it is required for the research project. If we are able to anonymise or pseudonymise the personal data you provide we will undertake this, and will endeavour to minimise the processing of personal data wherever possible.