Thesis

Adjusting the volume : reflecting autistic young people’s experiences of secure care

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2026
Thesis identifier
  • T18206
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201978792
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • This thesis explores the impact of secure care experiences on the identity narratives of autistic young people. Whilst not employing a particular narrative approach, the research made use of a flexible diary method and semi-structured interviews, analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). It sought reflections on the experiences of autistic young people who were living, or had recently lived, in Scotland’s secure care accommodation services. By listening directly to young people, this thesis offers a unique contribution to knowledge about life for a group of young people often described as ‘hard to reach’. It considers the intersection of autism, secure care and youth through the lenses of relationships, residence, and rules. Due to the ambivalence, incongruence and dissonance experienced by young people, it proposes that there is the potential for secure care to create barriers or supports, in relation to communication and attachment (through relationships); sensory differences (through the residence); and need for structure and routine (through the rules). In considering what is already known about autism in restricted settings such as secure care, it makes a number of recommendations for future practice, including in relation to congruent communication; ambivalent experiences; belonging; hyper-empathy; symbolism; masking; environmental adaptations; sensory connectivity; dichotomous thinking; information sharing; the autistic experience; and individuality of risk management.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Steckley, Laura
  • Robinson, Anna

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