Children’s experiences of inclusion through a concentric spatial lens: evidence from autism-specific classes in Ireland and the United States

This paper examines how children in autism-specific classes co-located in mainstream schools experienced inclusion through the lens of a spatial concentric theory. Drawing on qualitative data from classrooms in both Ireland and the United States, we apply the concentric / diametric spatial theory to explore how children in special classes experienced inclusion in school. While dominant interpretations of inclusive education often conflate inclusion with physical placement, emerging scholarship argues for a more nuanced conceptualisation that recognises schools as constellations of spaces shaped by connection and relationships, in addition to physical space configuration. Using adapted, participatory methods to elicit the views of children, we interpret how they described peers, adults, and play environments, and how these descriptions reflected degrees of connection or separation within their school settings. Our findings indicate that children in this sample largely experienced school through concentric spatial relations characterised by permeable boundaries of special classes, emotional safety, supportive adults, and peer connections. We argue for centring children’s voices in future decision-making at both individual school and policy levels in inclusive and special education. This paper demonstrates the value of concentric spatial theory for illuminating lived experiences of inclusion in special classes.