Role: Research Assistant

Bio: Aaron is a research assistant at CRAE working on various participatory research projects. Aaron undertook a placement year at CRAE as part of his Education with Psychology (BA) degree at the University of Bath. Aaron joined CRAE in September 2021 and, as part of his placement year, led a research project investigating the opportunities and challenges of providing flexible seating to children in a mainstream primary school, eliciting the views of neurodiverse children, as well as the views of their teaching staff. After finishing his placement year and graduating from the University of Bath, Aaron is now completing an MA degree at UCL alongside his role as research assistant at CRAE.

Current research and activities: Aaron is continuing his work on the flexible seating project, examining how this provision could be most effectively implemented in schools. Aaron is also leading a research project in collaboration with OFQUAL; this project explores barriers to exam participation for autistic young people, and seeks to identify how GCSE exams can be made more accessible for autistic students. Aaron also leads a research project at Phoenix School that explores the feasibility of establishing specialist classrooms for autistic children within mainstream schools.