Attachment theory and attachment difficulties: supporting autistic children and young people in residential school settings

In this paper, the authors, Dr Felicity Hepper (a child and adolescent psychiatrist), Kathleen Bartlett (an assistant psychologist) and Mary-Clare Fearn (a music therapist) argue that some autistic children and young people who attend residential schools also have an attachment disorder and that their needs arising from attachment difficulties also need to be addressed. The paper is in three parts and starts by describing different attachment styles and then goes on to suggest how these might manifest in a child's behaviour and how staff might be supported to understand this. The final part makes suggestions on actions likely to help autistic children to feel secure in a residential school setting, especially when coping with daily transitions between staff and between home and school. The authors state their aim is to be a 'good-enough' in-loco parent with a positive regard for the child, providing warmth and encouragement. By liaising effectively with parents and other family members to understand the underlying reasons for some of the child's responses and actions, staff can then deal sensitively and appropriately to the challenges they face and the child will slowly develop their trust in others and feel secure in their attachments.