Navigating Outward Bound: a first-person exploration of situational exposure through an autistic lens

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Newcombe, N. & Good, G. A. (2025). Navigating Outward Bound: a first-person exploration of situational exposure through an autistic lens. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 29(1), 19-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-025-00191-x

Publication date: 18 Feb 2025 Added to AutiHub: 16 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Nicolina Newcombe *
  2. Gretchen A. Good

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the first author’s experience as an autistic woman attending a five-day Professional Leadership course at Outward Bound in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Through a first-person autoethnographic narrative, Nicolina shares why she chose Outward Bound and how she navigated the challenges of situational exposure in a physically and socially demanding outdoor education program, using accommodations to maximise time in the learning zone. She discusses the sensory sensitivities and need for routines that often accompany Autism Spectrum Disorder and demonstrates how she adapted and advocated for her needs while participating in a mainstream course. The barriers she encountered and the positive outcomes she achieved are described. Four themes emerged, these were motivation, challenges, coping and thriving through adaptations, and hope. By reflecting on the balance between growth and anxiety within the comfort zone model, this article offers insights for autistic people, outdoor educationalists, and practitioners. Recommendations call for increased awareness and flexibility in accommodating neurodivergent people in adventure education contexts.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
33
With a DOI
21
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
12
1 / 33 (3.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
8 / 33 (24.2%)
References with detected author names
25 / 33 (75.8%)
Without detected author names
8
Without a structured title
8
Without a stable identifier
12
References with raw author names still to review
8
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
79
From DOI or external metadata
79
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
8
7 / 79 (8.9%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 72 / 79 (91.1%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 79 (1.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 7 (14.3%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 76 (1.3%).
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