Across the country school districts have experienced an increase in referrals for special education services for students with autism spectrum disorders. As a result District personnel, i.e. assessment teams, general educators, special educators and specialized services providers, have been pushed beyond the limits of their resources and time.
When developing programming for students with autism spectrum disorders there are many factors to consider. First, research literature on teacher preparation in schools shows that the experience and knowledge base of the teacher as well as professional development programs that support teachers in gaining and using evidence-based practices are positively related to student achievement outcomes. Staff training begins with broad based foundations trainings that include in-services and workshops to increase understanding about the core cognitive strengths and deficits of students with autism spectrum disorders and expand knowledge about the methodologies that have been shown to be effective with this population including behavioral problem solving.
Secondly, district assessment staff must have up-to-date assessment tools and knowledge of how to use those tools to understand the unique needs of students with autism spectrum disorders. Training for school psychologists, special education teachers, speech therapists and others is essential in providing appropriate and comprehensive assessment of students with autism spectrum disorders. All areas of development including cognition, adaptive behavior, communication, social and emotional development as well as fine and gross motor skills should be assessed to gain an understanding of the student’s overall functioning.
Another factor to consider when programming an IEP for any student with an autism spectrum disorder includes the development of educational goals that describe the skills to be. Goals should target skills in the core deficit areas of autism including social development, expressive verbal and receptive language, nonverbal communication skills, functional communication, fine and gross motor skills, cognitive skills and engagement as well as organizational and problem solving skills to support independence. The National Research Council in Educating Children With Autism, recommends "systematically planned, developmentally appropriate educational activity aimed toward identified objectives" for a minimum of 25 hours per week, 12 months a year.
Progress toward mastery of the goals for each student should be monitored closely and on an ongoing basis. If a student demonstrates lack of progress over a 3 month time period, the IEP team should reconvene and consider necessary changes to the IEP that might increase the intensity level of the student’s program. This might include any of the following: increase hours of programming and/or services, increased individualized instruction, change/modification of curriculum, placement change or even additional training or expert consultation.
An essential component of any program for students with autism should include research-based behavioral interventions. All teachers and professionals should be trained so that consistent application of the specific behavior intervention strategies is applied across settings for all students. All staff should be trained in positive behavior intervention strategies.
Finally, a full continuum of placement options must be available to meet the unique needs of each student. Placing all students with autism in one placement option does not fulfill the IDEA requirements for Least Restrictive Environment. Placement options may include full inclusion in a general education classroom with supports and services provided; placement in a general education classroom with portions of time in a special education classroom; placement in a special education classroom with mainstreaming into a general education classroom for selected activities or alternative or nonpublic school program.
Consideration of the above factors when developing a plan for programming for students with autism will lead to building capacity within the district for the implementation of consistent and effective services for students with autism.
Autism Education Services provides public school districts with
autism interventions programs necessary to fulfill the needs of students with autism spectrum disorders. With six decades of experience, the trained and certified staff at Autism EDS have a passion for helping teachers and students.
