‘A new adventure’: a case study of autistic children at Forest School

ABSTRACT

Spending time in nature has benefits for wellbeing in children, but relatively little is known about how autistic children experience nature. Framed by self-determination theory, this case study addresses this gap by exploring the experiences of 25 autistic children participating in a Forest School at their specialist school in the East of England. We used deductive reflexive thematic analysis to analyse participant observation and parent and child interview data. Our results indicated that Forest School benefited these autistic children through opportunities to play, exercise autonomy, and develop practical, motor, and social skills. However, challenges were also evident, including children absconding and conflict between peers. The success of sessions seemed contingent on adherence to routines and the influence of the adults present. Our findings supported the application of self-determination theory to Forest School to promote psychological wellbeing through autonomy, competence, and relatedness in autistic children. We discuss implications for training and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• Forest School
• nature-based learning
• self-determination theory
• reflexive thematic analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the school for being the site of this research and the parents, children, and teachers for their involvement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2022.2115522

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge.

Notes on contributors

Samantha Friedman

Samantha Friedman is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge. She studies the use of nature and nature-based learning methods to support wellbeing in autistic children and is also interested in connection to nature in children more generally.

Jenny Gibson

Jenny Gibson is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. Jenny’s research expertise is in autism and developmental language disorders and their impact on mental health and social relationships in childhood.

Catherine Jones

Catherine Jones is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge. Her research explores parenting, child adjustment, and family relationships in different family types.

Claire Hughes

Claire Hughes is Deputy Director of the Centre for Family Research. Claire’s research focuses on cognitive development (theory of mind and executive function), transitions to parenthood, transitions to school, and family influences on child problem behaviours.