TSU research on active travel for children with SEND featured in new House of Lords report
New research from the Transport Studies Unit has been cited in a major new House of Lords report reviewing the Autism Act 2009. The report sets out key recommendations for shaping the UK’s next autism strategy, ahead of the expiry of the current strategy in July 2026.
The TSU submission, authored by Dr Jennie Middleton, Dr Anna Plyushteva, and Dr Haifa AlArasi, working with our partners Swindon SEND Familiesvoice, SENDIASS Oxfordshire, and Living Streets, draws on the team’s work examining the everyday mobilities of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families. The team’s project, Care on the Move, focuses on how SEND children experience active travel along with their families, shedding light on the everyday challenges they face in navigating their environments.
Care on the Move is funded by ESRC: Economic and Social Research Council
The House of Lords report highlights several issues raised by the TSU researchers, including the ways in which transport systems often fail to consider the needs of autistic people, creating additional challenges for autistic children and their carers. The submission also draws attention to the stigma, impatience, and judgement autistic people often encounter in public transport settings, making a strong case for strengthened awareness and training for transport staff.
TSU contributions formed around half of the report’s transport-related evidence, reflecting the Unit’s leading role in research on mobility, accessibility, and inclusion for neurodivergent people.
“We are indebted to the hundreds of people who shared their experiences with us, including nearly 400 written submissions—which we believe to be a record number for a House of Lords Select Committee. We were constantly struck by the moving, and at times painful, testimonies of autistic people and those who support them, but also by the passion and determination they showed.”
“Our report draws on their evidence to set out a path to addressing the needs and aspirations of autistic people through the new autism strategy. To make the new strategy a success, the Government must set realistic goals, make a plan to deliver them, monitor progress, and work together with autistic people and those who support them to build change.”
This important contribution reflects the TSU’s ongoing work to support evidence-based policymaking in transport accessibility and inclusion.
Read the Report in full here
