‘It is important to be involved’: social participation of autistic children and adolescents in mainstream schools

Through the application of a Bourdieusian lens, this study aimed to contribute insight into social participation of autistic children and adolescents in mainstream schools in Iceland. The objectives were to (a) explore how autistic children and adolescents perceive their social participation in schools and (b) identify structures and processes that facilitate or hinder the children's and adolescents’ participation and social inclusion. Thirteen autistic children and adolescents were interviewed about their participation within different subfields of social relations such as the classroom, cafeteria and playground. The initial inductive analyses drew on Charmaz's constructive grounded theory approach. Then Bourdieu's theory of practice was applied to critically explore identified categories. We describe four categories that reflected processes and structures influencing the participants’ social participation in school: (1) defining and practicing friendships, (2) dealing with a non-accessible environment, (3) being bullied and (4) experiencing lack of social support. Our findings suggest that more focus needs to be directed to the structure and characteristics of different subfields and how they organise the social participation of autistic young people.