TOPIC

School-based research

Everything we have read on school-based. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

582 PAPERS · PAGE 11 OF 12 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Deaf children's experiences of hearing in everyday life: a systematic review.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationDeaf children's hearing experiences vary widely and are shaped by noise, device use, and social context. Listening fatigue and misperceptions about their abilities often limit participation in school and social activities. Ask each child directly what accommodations help them.
• OTSLPQualitative2025Exploring behavioral dynamics: an in-depth analysis of adult students with disabilities.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesParents and teachers most often described introversion and communication patterns among students with disabilities, with aggression, attachment, empathy, envy, and inappropriate sexual behavior also reported. These are proxy reports, not treatment outcomes.
• OTQualitative2025'Adolescence kicked in . . . and you need help again': A qualitative study of the experiences of parents of autistic teenagers with mental health difficulties or behaviours that challenge.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents described adolescence as a point where their established coping strategies stopped working, leaving them feeling de-skilled and unsupported by services. They reported increased fear, exhaustion, and financial strain, with many noting a complete absence of professional help during this transition.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Communication about sexuality for adolescents with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs: A scoping review with framework synthesis.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAdolescents with cerebral palsy who speak discuss sexuality with parents and peers, but those with complex communication needs are rarely asked directly. Support staff and parents report conversations focus on abuse prevention and personal care, missing broader topics like dating or consent.
• PTOTQualitative2025Play Together? Unveiling Facilitators and Barriers to Inclusive Outdoor Play for Dutch Children With and Without Disabilities: A Qualitative Study.Child: care, health and developmentChildren with disabilities, especially those in special schools, face the most barriers to outdoor play. Key obstacles include lack of nearby peers, inaccessible playgrounds, and pity from other children. Familiarity and growing up together were the strongest facilitators for inclusive play.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025Keeping Up With School During Hospitalization for Children With Chronic Illnesses, Siblings and Parents.Child: care, health and developmentFamilies staying at a Ronald McDonald House reported that teachers supported school continuity through flexible, reduced workloads and easy digital contact. Parents valued this but noted that homeschooling or prolonged absence cut off access to therapy services and peer socialization.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Exome sequencing in severe non-syndromic specific learning and language disorders in a French cohort.Molecular autismExome sequencing found a genetic diagnosis in 11 of 82 children with severe learning disorders. It also flagged 38 uncertain variants. No patient profile predicted who would get a diagnosis, and the study was too small to confirm if sequencing beats standard chromosome testing.
• OTSLPPilot2026The Schools Unified in Neurodiversity Collaborative: Co-designing a program to enhance educator knowledge and efficacy supporting children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn one U.S. district, 192 educators reported higher neurodiversity knowledge and confidence after a 6-hour co-designed training. They also found the tools feasible. No child outcomes were measured.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Social Determinants of Health and Life Satisfaction of Children With Disabilities.Child: care, health and developmentFor school-attending children with disabilities, life satisfaction is strongly linked to the child's own subjective health and self-esteem, alongside parental depression and family strength. Social determinants like healthcare costs and school accommodations also play a role, though accommodations are associated with lower satisfaction, possibly due to stigma.
• OTSLPCohort2025Exclusion and Truancy of Autistic Adolescents in a UK Population Representative Sample.Child: care, health and developmentIn this UK sample, 25% of autistic 14-year-olds had been excluded from school and 15% reported truanting. Higher externalising behaviour scores were strongly linked to both exclusion and truancy, while other factors showed weaker or unexpected associations.
• OTSLPQualitative2026The voice within: an online ethnography on the experiences of Deaf students in a public high school in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationDeaf students in the Philippines relied on visual communication and peer support to navigate online classes, but faced isolation and learning barriers when teachers prioritized hearing students' pacing and lacked accessible materials like captions.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Comparing people with persisting post-concussion symptoms from an emergency department-based research sample with patients in a clinical rehabilitation sample: an explorative, retrospective analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePatients referred to rehab for post-concussion symptoms had worse function and lower return-to-work than those tracked from emergency departments. Emergency-based studies do not represent the severity of patients seeking specialist care. Assess functional participation, not just symptom counts.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Screen Use and Child and Adolescent Health in Canada: Triangulation of Evidence Assessing the State of the Effort.Child: care, health and developmentCanadian parents and adults overwhelmingly believe schools, governments, and tech companies must help children use screens safely. However, the effort is fragmented: policies are inconsistent, sectors rarely collaborate, and federal leadership is largely absent despite growing media concern.
• OTSLPCase Series2026Appropriateness and Impact of a Vocal Cord Vibration Switch for Children with Complex Communication Needs: Case Series.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesThree children with complex communication needs used a vocal cord vibration switch for two years. Mothers and teachers reported lower effort and higher satisfaction compared to previous devices, and all three children continued using the switch after the main study period.
• OTQualitative2026"It Changed My Perspective": Embedding Occupational Therapy Within an Early Childhood Education Centre Provides Inclusive Developmental Support and Access to Early Intervention.Child: care, health and developmentTeachers and parents described embedded occupational therapy as removing the wait for help and the shame of pulling children out. They valued immediate classroom-based problem solving over traditional referral pathways, though this pilot reports their perceptions rather than child outcomes.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026What Motor Skills Do Children Perceive as Important? A Child-Centred Exploration Using the Motor Coordination Questionnaire.Child: care, health and developmentChildren in Ghana and South Africa consistently rated self-care, writing neatly, and household chores as very important. However, boys valued kicking a ball and team sports more, while girls valued dancing more. Children with motor difficulties rated many activities as less important.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Surveying the Professional Experience of Special Educational Needs Provision in England.Child: care, health and developmentMost SEND professionals feel confident identifying children, but only a third believe inter-agency communication is effective. They report lacking the time and resources to provide sufficient support, citing funding and waiting lists as primary barriers to good provision.
• OTSLPCohort2025Sensory Processing Modalities and Their Associations With Academic Achievement in Autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersDirect auditory processing tests, not parent reports of sensory issues, linked to reading and math scores in autistic and ADHD children. Poor ability to hear speech in noise tracked with lower academic achievement. This suggests checking hearing-in-noise skills, not just asking parents about sensory habits.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Specific components of manual dexterity are affected in patients with writer's cramp: an observational comparative study and preliminary rehabilitation report.Journal of rehabilitation medicineWriter's cramp does not cause a general loss of manual dexterity. Patients showed normal finger tapping speed and force control, but reduced finger selectivity. This impaired independence correlated with poorer handwriting legibility. Preliminary rehabilitation improved selectivity and automated legibility, but not writing speed.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Profiles of parent-teacher discrepancy on autistic children's adaptive functioning.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParent and teacher ratings of autistic children's adaptive functioning often disagree. Teachers rated children with higher IQ and better executive function as more capable at school than parents did. Children with lower incomes showed the largest gaps, with parents reporting higher skills than teachers.
• OTSLPCase Report2026Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Disruptive Behavior in a Child With Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Failure to Thrive.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPManaging ADHD in a child with eosinophilic esophagitis and poor weight gain requires choosing medications that do not suppress appetite, such as alpha-2 agonists, and adapting feeding therapy to the family's specific food restrictions and stress levels.
• OTSLPCohort2026Clinical Diagnostics After Failed Hearing Screening in People With Intellectual Disabilities Do Not Often Take Place.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDROnly 37.5% of people with intellectual disabilities referred for external hearing diagnostics after failed on-site screening actually attended. Adults were least likely to follow up. Caregivers often did not attempt to book appointments, citing lack of necessity or competing health priorities.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Sub-groups of spoken language and broader communication skills in a large heterogenous cohort of minimally verbal school-age children: evidence of discrepant profiles.Molecular autismA cluster analysis of 181 minimally verbal school-age children identified two groups with strong comprehension but weak speech production. These children use AAC more often. Their profile suggests a speech-motor barrier rather than a lack of understanding, so therapy should target speech sounds and support alternative communication.
• OTOther2026Support Needs and Available Resources for School-Aged Siblings of Children With Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDSchool-aged siblings of children with disabilities want emotional support, practical solutions to sibling aggression, and peer contact, primarily from parents. They did not view teachers as support sources. Available online resources are fragmented, mostly generic, and rarely address these specific needs.
• OTSLPQualitative2026Eliciting the views of autistic adolescents attending specialist schools on what friendships mean to them.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adolescents with complex communication needs described friendships as connections driven by strong emotions, active play with chosen peers, and sometimes close ties to familiar adults. They also asked for space from friends in structured settings.
• OTCohort2026The relationship between age of autism diagnosis and life satisfaction in adulthood.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adults diagnosed between ages 3 and 5 reported higher life satisfaction, autonomy, and social activity than those diagnosed in adulthood. Autism traits were the strongest predictor of lower satisfaction across all domains, outweighing the impact of diagnosis age.
• PTOTRCT2026Non-inferiority of digitally assisted outpatient rehabilitation in patients with back pain: 12-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineDigital back school delivered remotely was not worse than in-person sessions for pain self-efficacy at 12 months. Scores were similar across groups. Therapists can offer the digital option to patients who need flexibility, knowing the long-term effect matches conventional care.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Perspectives of young people with neuromotor disabilities on shared digital portals in paediatric rehabilitation: A descriptive-interpretive qualitative study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyYoung people with disabilities described shared digital portals as tools to reduce repetitive care and support autonomy. They wanted control over who sees their data, practical home exercise guides, and peer connection, while warning against surveillance and pressure from unmet goals.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026How are School-aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Digital Media? A Qualitative Study of Families' Lived Experiences.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPFamilies described digital media as a double-edged sword. It offers relief, deep interest exploration, and social connection, but creates safety concerns and caregiver guilt. Rules must be highly individualized and flexible, as one-size-fits-all restrictions fail in diverse home and school settings.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Defining Transition and Transition Success: Perspectives From Different Stakeholders.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDYoung people with intellectual disabilities defined successful transition as gaining independence, responsibility, and social connections, similar to peers without disabilities. Parents and special school teachers viewed it as uniquely difficult, focusing on protection and employment. Services must support community inclusion and skill building earlier, not just job placement.
• OTSLPQualitative2026Good intentions are not enough: Autistic perspectives on structural ableism within the walls of our classrooms.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic students said what stopped them speaking up at school was not their own lack of skill but the system: autism erased from lessons, inflexible staff, punishment for being different, isolation, hidden rules and top-down authority. Teaching self-advocacy alone will not fix that.
• OTSystematic Review2026Autism in Viet Nam: A systematic scoping review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutism research in Vietnamese cultural contexts has grown quickly but is mostly poor quality and rarely involves the community: 93% of studies reported no autism community involvement. Family, school and the search for a cause, including wartime dioxin exposure, dominated the 137 studies.
• OTCohort2026The impact of specialist resource centres on autistic pupils' experience of mainstream school.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceWhere autistic pupils were placed made no measurable difference to their wellbeing, belonging or sense of support. Across resource centres and ordinary mainstream classes, it was peer and teacher support that went with better outcomes.
• OTCohort2026Autistic young people's psychological well-being in school.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic teenagers like school less and are unhappy there more often than non-autistic peers, but those gaps disappear once academic self-concept, bullying and peer problems are accounted for. How autistic students rate their own academic ability tracked most closely with how they felt at school.
• OTCase Report2026Challenging Case: Health Care Professionals as Cultural Brokers for a Boy From Central America With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Trauma and Stressor-related Disorder.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPOne boy with ADHD, trauma and autism improved on stimulant and guanfacine treatment, but cost and language barriers blocked psychotherapy, and his mood later worsened. What helped was cultural brokering: staff attended his school meeting and helped the family with housing and prescriptions.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2026Systematic Review of Group-Based Emotion Regulation Interventions for Autistic Children's Socio-Emotional Competence.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthGroup programmes teaching autistic children to recognise and manage emotions may improve social skills, emotional competence and empathy. All 17 studies reported gains, but several had no comparison group and the studies were too varied to pool, so the effect is uncertain.
• OTSLPSurvey2026Growing-up autistic: Sharing autistic children's experiences and insights.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMost of these 136 autistic children felt it was okay to be autistic at home (91%) but not around teachers (26.8%) or friends (40.2%). Only 4.5% felt they definitely had the words to describe being autistic, and 45.1% said they masked.
• OTSurvey2025Teacher-school fit, job satisfaction, participation in decision-making, and psychological ownership as predictors of organizational ostracism among primary school teachers.Work (Reading, Mass.)Teachers who felt they fitted their school reported less exclusion at work, but the direct link was not significant. The effect ran indirectly, through job satisfaction and psychological ownership, or through job satisfaction and participation in decision-making.
• OTCohort2025Descriptive evaluation of community based children's occupational therapy services using COPM.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTParents rated children's performance and satisfaction higher after community occupational therapy, with mean performance rising from 3.6 to 6.7 and satisfaction from 3.8 to 7.3 on a ten-point scale. More sessions did not mean more improvement, and there was no control group.
• OTCohort2026Time to Medication Initiation in School-age Children With ADHD in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPAbout 59% of school-age children diagnosed with ADHD in developmental-behavioral clinics were prescribed medication within a year, with a median wait of 4 days. Children waited longer if a psychologist diagnosed them, if they were Asian, or if they had co-occurring conditions.
• OTSurvey2026Occupational Therapy for Children With DCD and Academic Difficulties: A Pan-Canadian Survey.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieAlmost every Canadian OT surveyed (99%) assessed academic activities in children with DCD, but handwriting dominated (96% assessed, 85% treated), ahead of writing, maths and reading, even though maths difficulties affect up to 90%.
• OTSystematic Review2026School and School-Related Experiences of Children and Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Scoping Review.Child: care, health and developmentChildren with IBD miss more school than healthy peers: 24 days for Crohn's disease and 21 for colitis in one French sample, against 5.1 for controls. Symptoms and hospital appointments drive most of it. Grades were largely unaffected; school support and social life were not.
• OTOther2026Emotional and Behavioural Problems of Children and Youth With Intellectual Disabilities Following the February 6 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake: A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDTeachers rated children with intellectual disabilities after the February 2023 Türkiye earthquakes highest for social, attention and thought problems, with boys rated higher than girls for aggression and rule-breaking. Drawings often omitted details, but nothing was measured before the earthquake.
• OTPilot2026A Geometric-Based Handwriting Intervention (GBHI) for Chinese Handwriting: Development, Feasibility, and Pilot Findings.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTHandwriting scores moved in the right direction after a 12-hour Chinese handwriting program, but with only 4 boys and no control group nothing reached significance. Eight children who tried one module rated it highly, though copying tasks were least liked.
• OTQualitative2026Identifying the experiences, challenges and opportunities along pathways for community-based digital skill development for young people with disabilities in Canada: a community-based research study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesYoung people with disabilities build digital skills mostly by teaching themselves and leaning on friends, family and community groups, because school and formal systems leave the gaps. Affordable courses stop at the basics, and accessibility is usually an afterthought.
• PTOTQualitative2026Attendance Compulsory, Motivation Conditional. Autistic Youth's Psychological Need Support and Satisfaction Related to Physical Education: A Qualitative Investigation.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic students said PE worked when teachers explained tasks clearly and classmates were kind, and stopped working when it was noisy, rules were unclear, or peers teased them. Many sat out as a way of coping, not because they disliked PE.
• OTSystematic Review2022Remote Assessments of Hand Function in Neurological Disorders: Systematic Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesRemote tools show promise for measuring hand function, but none is yet valid and reliable across Parkinson's disease, stroke and MS. Finger tapping and hand tremor matched in-clinic scores best. Most reported links to clinic measures were not significant, and few studies checked reliability.
• OTRCT2023A Randomized Clinical Trial Targeting Daily Living Skills in Autistic Adolescents Without an Intellectual Disability Before the Transition to Adulthood.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPAutistic teens in their last two years of high school gained more daily living skills from a 14-session programme than from a social skills group, on the overall score and on domestic skills. Personal care and community skills improved equally in both groups.
• OTRCT2024Behavioral Intervention that Extends Sleep Duration Leads to Greater Self-Control in School-Aged Children.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPChildren aged 8 to 11 who slept 9.5 hours or less a night and got a brief behavioural sleep programme slept longer and their caregivers rated them as more self-controlled than controls. Caregivers knew which group their child was in.
• OTRCT2025Effect of Telerehabilitation on Handwriting Performance in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial.Child: care, health and developmentEight weeks of online, therapist-led fine motor training improved handwriting and fine motor scores in 6-8 year olds with inattentive-type ADHD, with mothers helping at home. Writing rate did not improve. All 35 children finished the programme.