Gayle Dillon

• BSc, PhD
• Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University

Research suggests that autistic individuals have qualitatively unique experiences of prison social environments, and that these experiences may have implications for autistic prisoners’ mental wellbeing and engagement with offending behaviour interventions. However, this has yet to be quantitatively tested. Using a sample of 177 adult prisoners fro...

Research suggests that sexual offending is one of the more common forms of offending behaviour committed by autistic individuals. Despite this, very little research has investigated approaches to rehabilitation for autistic individuals who have sexually offended. The small body of literature that does exist suggests that interventions to address se...

Taking a predominantly social model perspective, this chapter aims to introduce and explore some of the challenges faced by autistic individuals serving prison sentences, which have been identified in contemporary research literature. In addition, the chapter will also identify and explore potentially supportive features of prisons for autistic pri...

Abstract While there have been promising steps taken toward shaping and improving prison rehabilitative climates for individuals with sexual convictions, to date, no research has focussed specifically on the impact of a prison rehabilitative climate on autistic indidviduals. Previous qualitative research has indicated that autistic prisoners have...

This chapter begins by introducing autism, outlining the main diagnostic features and emphasising its highly heterogeneous nature. Potential links between autism and sexual crime are considered, with particular focus on how some features of autism can contribute to specific types of sexual crime. This chapter discusses the implications of, and chal...

There is little research regarding the prison experiences of individuals diagnosed with autism. Extant literature suggests that prison presents numerous challenges for autistic prisoners. This research explored the experiences of seven autistic men in a UK prison that houses individuals who are serving sentences for sexual convictions. Participants...

Recently, there has been an increase in the adoption of competency‐based approaches (CBA) in higher education and, for some practitioners, this involves modifying existing provision. This case study describes the development, delivery, and evaluation of a transnational training program that was developed for Chinese university tutors who planned to...

Discovery awareness (DA) is an approach to using video within structured meetings to help staff become more mindful, aware and interested in a client they are supporting who has intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The objective was to evaluate whether, and how, DA is helpful for staff in both inpatient and community settings, and w...

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) are an initiative designed to support those previously convicted of sexual offences as they reintegrate back in to society, whilst still holding them accountable for their thoughts and behaviour (Cesaroni, 2002). The aim of the research was to explore the Core Member and volunteer experience of being inv...

Prison staff and residents with sexual convictions, from two UK prisons, were interviewed to explore their understanding and experiences of dementia. The aim was to explore understanding and experiences of dementia in response to Governor-identified needs in the prisons. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen prisoners and seventee...

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) are an intervention used to support and enable those who have been convicted of a sexual offence (core member), to reintegrate back into society, whilst still holding them accountable for their behaviour (Cesaroni, 2002). The purpose of this study was to introduce a new prison-model of CoSA and to explor...

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) are an intervention used to support and enable those who have been convicted of a sexual offence (core member), to reintegrate back into society, whilst still holding them accountable for their behaviour (Cesaroni, 2001). The purpose of this study was to introduce a new prison-model of CoSA and to explor...

Circles of support and accountability (CoSA) in the prison-model begin prior to the core members' release from prison and continue with them on release in to the community. The purpose of this study was to explore the expectations of release of those convicted of a sexual offence and how this develops during their participation in the prison sessio...

A poster describing a qualitative study conducted at HMP Whatton, which explored the experiences and understanding of Dementia among prison staff and prisoners.

This presentation outlines some of the key findings from the PhD research evaluating the prison-based model of CoSA

A poster describing a qualitative study conducted at HMP Whatton, which explored the experiences and understanding of Dementia among prison staff and prisoners.

A poster describing a qualitative study conducted at HMP Whatton, which explored the experiences of prisoners with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

There is little research detailing first hand experiences of prisoners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). That which does exist suggests that prison life can present numerous specific challenges for those with ASD, and that prisons are not currently fully meeting the unique needs of prisoners with ASD. The primary purpose of this research was to...

Individuals incarcerated in prisons across the United Kingdom and abroad are able to volunteer for a variety of peer-support roles, which are characterized by prisoner-to-prisoner helping. Some research has found that such roles can represent turning points in the lives of those who have offended and encourage movements toward desistance. This prop...

This paper discusses the exploration of the collecting behaviours of people convicted of internet sexual offences, with a focus on the putative overlap between collecting behaviour and Autistic Spectrum Conditions

This poster consider the new prison-model of CoSA established by the Safer Living Foundation.

This poster outlines the PhD research project evaluating the prison-based model of CoSA

This presentation considers the benefits and challenges of the prison-based model of CoSA

This presentation consider the rehabilitative power of peer-support programmes

This presentation outlines the research evaluating the prison-based model of CoSA and discusses some of the preliminary results.

This poster is an overview of the establishment of the new prison-based model of CoSA.

This presentation considers the PhD project aimed at evaluating the new prison-based model of CoSA established at HMP Whatton by the Safer Living Foundation

This presentation considers the peer-support roles in prison

Aims: Parents of children with autism are reported to experience greater parenting stress than parents of neurotypical children. This qualitative study examined parents’ experiences of living with their adolescent with autism to ascertain their perceptions of psychological impact. In addition, parental coping strategies and the contribution of the...

This presentation considers the impact of peer-support roles in prison and in the community post-release

This presentation outlines the new prison-based model of Circles of Support and Accountability established by the Safer Living Foundation.

This research investigated the self-reported mainstream school experiences of those diagnosed on the autistic spectrum compared with the typically developing school population. Existing literature identifies four key areas that affect the quality of the school experience for students with autism: social skills, perceived relationships with teaching...

This poster outlines the new-prison based model of Circles of Support and Accountability

Transferring from mainstream primary to secondary school can be especially problematic for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Two groups of parents (nine pretransition and six posttransition parents) contributed to this 15-month-long study. Perceptions of the pretransition group were captured through focus groups and in-depth interviews at...

The imaginative abilities of children on the autistic spectrum are reportedly impaired compared to typically developing children. This study explored computer mediated story construction in children with autism and typically developing peers. The purpose was to explore expressive writing ability, as a measure of imagination. Ten pairs of individual...

The teaching profession’s response to the inexorable march of new technology into education has been a focus of research for some 30 years. Linked with the impact of ICT on measurable performance outcomes, teacher attitudes to technology and the impact on pedagogic practice have been central to that research, a research that has often seen teachers...

This report presents the findings of the Personalising Learning project, which was commissioned by Becta. The core aim of the project is to develop a robust model of the effective use of digital technologies for the personalising of learning. Personalising learning in this context involves the tailoring of pedagogy, curriculum and learning support...

The United Kingdom has one of the highest records of child pedestrian accidents in the European Union, and statistics show boys are particularly vulnerable. This study investigated whether there were identifiable developmental or sex differences in the perception of road risk, which might explain the occurrence of such child pedestrian accidents. T...

The impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the process and products of education is difficult to assess for a number of reasons. In brief, education is a complex system of interrelationships, of checks and balances. This context is not a neutral backdrop on which teaching and learning are played out. Rather, it may help, or h...

The publication provides an analysis of twelve case studies involving schools in England that were using Tablet PCs. The analysis is complemented by brief individual reports describing aspects of how each of these schools was using Tablet PCs.

Tablet PCs are a relatively new format of computer, which seem to offer features which may be beneficial to schools. The uptake of Tablet PCs by schools has been somewhat limited, not least due to their greater cost than laptops of a 'similar' specification. This paper explores the key question of the extent to which schools should be investing in...