Publications and reports

Access academic and policy reporting on the LEANS project.

Image
Three children sitting around a sheet of paper drawing

Academic publications, pre-registrations, and pre-prints 

LEANS participatory design process (2020-2021)

We are in the process of writing publications about LEANS’ design work and preparing to share document and templates, and will update the site when they are available.  

LEANS public consultation studies (2020)

Open-access paper (free to all readers, even if you are not in a university)

Zahir, R., Alcorn, A. M., McGeown, S., Mandy, W., Aitken, D., Murray, F., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2023). Short report: Evaluation of wider community support for a neurodiversity teaching programme designed using participatory methods. Autism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231211046

OnlineFirst as of November 9, 2023. This item does not yet have an issue number.

LEANS evaluation study (2021)

Pre-registration: Before conducting analyses, we pre-registered the quantitative elements of our school evaluation study on OSF, including file uploads of the bespoke measures (quizzes) our team created to assess the neurodiversity concepts taught within LEANS.

View pre-registration for the quantitative components of this study and the LEANS quizzes on the Open Science Framework (OSF), free, no login needed

Pre-print paper: “Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS): Evaluation of the LEANS resource pack in mainstream primary schools” is currently under review at an academic journal, but a version is available to read now. 

Read the pre-print on OSF, free, no login needed

Our LEANS news section says more about what pre-prints are, and how this is different than having a paper accepted for publication.

LEANS consultation study on resource adaptation for secondary schools (2021) 

Free downloadable report:  Smikle, R., Alcorn A.M. & Fletcher-Watson S. (2021). Considerations for adapting the LEANS resource to teach secondary school pupils about neurodiversity: a focus group study. University of Edinburgh. https://osf.io/37evy/ 

This work was conducted as a 10-week student mini-project on the Translational Neuroscience PhD Programme, and originally submitted as an assignment to the University of Edinburgh Medical School Biomedical Teaching Organisation (15/12/21). 

Policy briefs

Policy brief for the Scottish Government, November 2023

This short document explains the connections between LEANS (and neurodiversity teaching generally) and current legislation and policy priorities in Scotland, and was written as a part of LEANS’ participation in the Scottish Government’s Education Research Seminar Series, November 2023.

Download and read our policy brief:

 

 

Public talks and media

Visit our talks and media page to find conference posters and presentations, recorded talks, and short articles written for education professionals and the public.