The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

As best practice, the National Academy of Sciences recommends 25 hours a week, year around of one-on-one/small group early intervention as the key to overcoming many of autism’s limitations. This presentation will describe what rural, suburban and urban school districts in Ohio and Michigan do to meet this recommendation for children ages 3 to 6 not yet in kindergarten. Additionally, parental information regarding the types of services this population receives from the school district and private sector will be described. This presentation will present information obtained during a doctoral research project completed in November of 2007.  The presentation will describe if and how public school districts in Ohio and Michigan are following and meeting the National Academy of Sciences best practice recommendations regarding early intervention.  The National Academy of Sciences recommends 25 hours a week, year around of one-on-one/small group early intervention as the key to overcoming many of autism’s limitations.

This presentation will review research from public school districts in the Midwest States of Ohio and Michigan an describe what rural, suburban and urban school districts in Ohio and Michigan do to meet this recommendation for children ages 3 to 6 not yet in kindergarten. Additionally, parental information regarding the types of services this population receives from the school district and private sector will be described.    With the increase of children being diagnosed with autism and the influx of these students into the public school system the percentage of students receiving services for autism will grow substantially in the next decade. Educators and school leaders will be expected to provide the best intervention for autistic children. However, many educational leaders have received little or no formal education or training regarding autism and are completely unaware of the spectrum and the vast differences of each student.  

Autism experts recommend a certain number of hours of intervention for maximum results and today’s educational leaders need to know what is effective and what is expected. These requests obviously need to be balanced with what is good for the child and the district. This is vital as the parents of autistic children often know these recommendations and will be requesting particular interventions.  This presentation will examine the interventions provided by school districts and perceived gaps parents find in the interventions.

The increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism and the determined need for early intervention to best address the needs of these children necessitates research to address this topic. The lack of existing research addressing current practices and perceived gaps in intervention services makes this study even more important. Knowledge of what intervention protocols are provided by schools and the extra services parents feel they must provide will be determined by this descriptive study. This research will be useful for school leaders, special education directors and special education teachers who seek to provide the best possible services for the autistic children in the district while balancing the needs of the other students in the district.
There are several learning objectives of this presentation.  After this presentation, participants will be able to:

1.       Compare and contrast the National Academy of Sciences best practice recommendations regarding early intervention to what is being provided in public school districts in Ohio and Michigan.
2.      Describe how parents help fill the gap between recommended hours and hours provided by school district.
3.      Recognize the gap between the recommendations and actual practices.
4.      Have an understanding of the difference in provision of services between school districts.
5.      Discuss with others what is being done in their school district in comparison to best practice recommendations.
This presentation contributes to best practice and advancing the field of autism spectrum disorders by providing those in and out of the autism community an opportunity to understand how the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences are actually being implemented in the public school setting.  Additionally, this presentation will generate important discussion regarding what is actually happening in school districts in regard to early intervention services and programming and what needs to be done to meet the best practice recommendations.

Learning Objectives: