Research

At The Sycamore School, research is central to our work with autistic young people. We take a strengths-based approach that values the aspirations and lived experiences of our young people, families and staff. In 2025, we are focusing our research efforts on two key areas: Supporting students to set and work towards personally meaningful goals and Strengthening and building on teaching approaches that promote academic, social and emotional growth. These priorities reflect our belief that research should strengthen practice at our school and contribute to positive change across the wider autism community.

We use research to support ongoing learning across our school. This includes co-design, where students, families and staff work together to shape programs and decisions, and action research, where staff reflect on their practice, explore new ideas and learn from the results. We also partner with universities to bring the latest research on autism and inclusive education into our school. These partnerships support new ideas and help make sure our research reflects what matters most to our young people and school community. This focus on learning together helps keep our programs relevant, effective and inclusive.

We believe that research should be shared and celebrated. Here are some of the ways we have contributed to autism education recently: Conference Presentations (2025) • Asia Pacific Autism Conference | Co-designing future pathways: Participatory research with autistic Year 10 students • Asia Pacific Autism Conference | Improving educator confidence in delivering emotional self-awareness learning: A professional learning community approach • Australian Conference on Neurodevelopmental Disorders | Pathways to independence: Empowering autistic students in Year 10 to set goals for life beyond school using the Adolescent/Adult Goal Setting Tool • A Matter of Translation ResearchED Conference | From cognitive science to the classroom: Practical strategies to support neurodivergent learners Publications • Time to change how we measure quality of life and well-being in autism: A systematic review (2024). Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. • Observing the classroom literacy environment of children on the autism spectrum in specialist classrooms (2022). Australian Journal of Education. We are contributing to a growing body of research that supports our work and helps share what we are learning with others.