Training and Knowledge in Autism among General and Special Education Teachers: A Survey

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CHAPTER: SURVEY FINDINGS

Introduction

It is yet debatable that the awareness on the occurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is also increasing with the passage of time. The Centers of Disease Control (CDC) approximated the occurrence of ASD to be 1 in 88 people across the U.S (CDC, 2012). The awareness of the distinctive needs of the people with ASD is increasing with the increase in diagnosis of cases with ASD. However, educational schools and colleges seldom have any training specialization among general, as well as, special education teachers. It is observed that many students with ASD are studying in general schools with other individuals not having ASD (U.S. Department of Education, 2009), and only few general education teachers have any knowledge or receive any training on Autism in children. Moreover, only few general and special education teachers are aware of the evidence-based practices for individuals with ASD. There could be various factors behind the lack of general and special education teachers' awareness on Autism.

Factors: Lack of Awareness on Autism

Out of the many factors, the primary historical factor is considered as the lack of knowledge of Autism and the absence of any category for Autism in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) until the 1990 reauthorization. The children with autism were categorized among various other categories of special education services, before 1991. Likewise the category of autism was included in the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Division on Developmental Disabilities, in 2002 (CEC-DDD, 2003). Moreover, autism was seldom considered as a category for a teacher preparation qualification. There were not any established standards, in CEC, for providing knowledge and training to the teachers on autism until 2009. However, in the CEC Convention in 2009 in Seattle, the CEC-DDD finally converted to Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CEC-DADD). Many researchers and theorists have argued that the diagnosis of children with autism requiring special education services have started increasing with the passage of time (Bitterman et. al., 2008; Boyd and Shaw, 2010). Yell and colleagues (2003) asserted that the children diagnosed with autism were 65,424 in 1999-2000, as compared to 5,415 children diagnosed with autism in 1991-1992 school year. Yet, there is still not enough evidence on the teacher training for children with autism. However, it is strictly accused and impeached under IDEA for unqualified teachers to serve students with autism (Yell et. al., 2003). Autism in individuals is considered as a spectrum disorder, but the individuals diagnosed with autism are to be found in a diverse group (Heflin & Simpson, 1998). Some of the general characteristics found in individuals with ASD are interruptions in language and social functioning with uncommon repetitive behaviors. Therefore, training and knowledge among general and special education teachers will require preparation for several low-incidence and high-incidence knowledge and skills. Ludlow and colleagues (2005) claimed that even the states with teacher preparation programs already divided by incidence also have difficulty in successfully including teacher training for students ...