Sarah Jane Parsons

I have longstanding research interests in the educational experiences of autistic children, young people and adults and their families. My work is participatory and inclusive with a particular focus on knowledge co-construction between research and practice. At the heart of my research is the development and application of creative methodologies for enabling the voices and participation of children and young people to be heard.

With Dr Hanna Kovshoff in Psychology, I co-direct the Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton [ACoRNS]. ACoRNS is a research-practice partnership that aims to improve the lives of autistic children and young people within education through addressing the marginalisation and underrepresentation of their views and experiences. ACoRNS was founded in 2016 with partners Aviary Nursery in Eastleigh and New Forest School in Hampshire. Since then, we have grown to include five more schools and colleges, and undertaken collaborative work with colleagues within the University of Southampton. Our model has been adopted by colleagues at the University of Sussex who launched a sister ACoRN - ACoRN@Sussex - in October 2020.

ACoRNS aligns with major University of Southampton strategic objectives through conducting interdisciplinary research and working with local schools and wider communities as part of the University’s commitment to being a Civic University.

The ACoRNS model of research is achieved through working in partnership with community settings, the projects, ideas, and funding bids we work on are jointly developed, evaluated and disseminated. As such, impact is baked into the model with demonstrable societal outcomes achieved through our work as seen in changes observed and maintained in practice (e.g., use of Digital Stories to support Education Health Care Plans in Hampshire and West Sussex Educational Psychology Services), via research dissemination (invited talks, publications, conference attendance) and through the award of successful funding bids (ESRC, Epilepsy Research UK, Froebel Trust, University of Southampton).

Professor Sarah Parsons

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