ASC (overall school size = about 1200 pupils). Pupils attended the ASC unit for registration and the majority of pupils attended lessons in the mainstream school, with support of staff from the ASC unit if required, and would return to the ASC unit between lessons and during breaks. At the end of the day, pupils attended a final meeting in the ASC unit where pupil progress was discussed. The researcher spent two mornings in the ASC unit, prior to interviews, to enable participants to get to know him and build trust. This also enabled the researcher to gain an insight into how the ASC unit worked in relation to the school and make observations. Once the school had agreed to take part in the study, they sent out information sheets (Appendix A) and consent forms (Appendix B) to parents of pupils that fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the study. The inclusion criteria were that participants were aged 11-16, had a formal diagnosis of an ASC, and were considered to be high functioning. Potential consent was given by parents for ten pupils. A joint decision between the manager of the ASC unit and the researcher meant that one of these pupils was excluded from the study because of being highly distressed at the time the study was being conducted. Individual participants were then approached by the manager of the ASC unit to discuss the research and they were then given participant information sheets (Appendix C). The researcher discussed the research further with them and written consent (Appendix D) was then gained from the pupils themselves, with one pupil declining to participate. Semi-structured interviews A semi-structured interview schedule was designed in consultation with a Clinical Psychologist specialising in working with children and adolescents diagnosed with
ASC (overall school size = about 1200 pupils). Pupils attended the ASC unit for registration and the majority of pupils attended lessons in the mainstream school, with support of staff from the ASC unit if required, and would return to the ASC unit between lessons and during breaks. At the end of the day, pupils attended a final meeting in the ASC unit where pupil progress was discussed. The researcher spent two mornings in the ASC unit, prior to interviews, to enable participants to get to know him and build trust. This also enabled the researcher to gain an insight into how the ASC unit worked in relation to the school and make observations. Once the school had agreed to take part in the study, they sent out information sheets (Appendix A) and consent forms (Appendix B) to parents of pupils that fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the study. The inclusion criteria were that participants were aged 11-16, had a formal diagnosis of an ASC, and were considered to be high functioning. Potential consent was given by parents for ten pupils. A joint decision between the manager of the ASC unit and the researcher meant that one of these pupils was excluded from the study because of being highly distressed at the time the study was being conducted. Individual participants were then approached by the manager of the ASC unit to discuss the research and they were then given participant information sheets (Appendix C). The researcher discussed the research further with them and written consent (Appendix D) was then gained from the pupils themselves, with one pupil declining to participate. Semi-structured interviews A semi-structured interview schedule was designed in consultation with a Clinical Psychologist specialising in working with children and adolescents diagnosed with