Using ‘I am’ Digital Stories to facilitate autistic young people to have a voice in their transition to adulthood

Abstract

The voices of autistic young people are frequently excluded from transition planning and decision-making, especially when they have more complex needs and may not use speech to communicate. The aim of this research, based at a residential special school in England, was to extend and evaluate the use of the ‘I am’ Digital Stories methodology. ‘I am’ Digital Stories are short (c.3–5 min) videos that use a strengths-based framework to support the sharing of voice, experiences, and preferences in visual form. ‘I am’ Digital Stories is an accessible and inclusive methodology that enables young people to present their ‘best selves’ to people in new settings who are meeting them for the first time. Digital Stories were co-created with and/or for three young adults aged 18–19, their families and the school, and shared with stakeholders as part of the transition to post-school contexts. Reflexive thematic analysis of data from 17 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders resulted in five themes: benefits of Digital Stories, humanising approach; ownerships and agency, ethical considerations and direct impact on practice. Stakeholders highlighted how powerful the ‘I am’ Digital Stories were for gaining a fuller, more humanising understanding of the young person that was unavailable or impossible via other sources.