Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)
Opening Issue

Original articles

Educational Pathway Disruptions Among Autistic Students: A Scoping Review of School Changes, Exclusions, and School Non-Attendance

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5282/breakingbarriers/17

Published 2026-06-22

  • Melika Ahmetovic
    • ,
  • Anett Platte
    • ,
  • Simon Wallace
    • ,
  • Emad Al-Rozzi

Melika Ahmetovic
LMU Munich

Anett Platte
University Regensburg; University of Leipzig

Simon Wallace
University of Birmingham

Emad Al-Rozzi
OsloMet

Abstract

School transitions, exclusions, and periods of school non-attendance occur at disproportionately high rates among autistic students and have lasting effects on their educational biographies. Existing research has largely examined these phenomena in isolation, rarely analyzing them in their temporal relationship as biographical trajectories. A combined perspective is necessary to reveal cumulative stress dynamics, biographical turning points, and systemic patterns that remain hidden when each phenomenon is studied separately.

This scoping review aims to map the international empirical literature on the educational biographies of autistic students in primary and secondary schooling, and to identify recurring trajectory-related patterns, turning points, and factors influencing continuity and discontinuity. The literature search was conducted across four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed) between October 2024 and June 2025. Following title, abstract, and full-text screening, 34 empirical studies were included and analyzed using narrative-thematic qualitative content analysis.

The educational biographies of autistic students are predominantly non-linear and characterized by cumulative stress dynamics. School transitions and exclusions frequently function as turning points within longer-term escalation processes, arising from repeated mismatches between individual needs and school contextual conditions. Three dimensions of influence are reconstructed: structural conditions (e.g., institutional routines, resources, autism competence), social contexts (e.g., peer relationships, teacher-student relationships), and individual stress factors.

Educational discontinuities among autistic students cannot be understood as isolated events, but as relational and processual trajectories that require integrated analysis. The review contributes to conceptually consolidating a fragmented field of research and identifies directions for future longitudinal work on educational participation and exclusion.

Keywords

Autism, Educational biographies, Structural barriers, Discontinuities, Inclusive education

PDF (German)

Author Biography

Melika Ahmetovic

Department Education and Rehabilitation

Chair: Behavioural disorders, Autism and inclusive Education

Coordinator of Additional Teacher Training Program Autism Spectrum

Assistant Lecturer and Researcher

PhD Candidate

Anett Platte

University Regensburg, Visiting Professor

University of Leipzig, Assitant lecturer and Researcher

Simon Wallace

School of Education

Autism Center of Education and Research

PhD

Emad Al-Rozzi

Faculty of Education and International Studies
– Department of Early Childhood Education
– Head of Studies – Area of Responsibility 2

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