Autism Services: Can The Public Schools Compare To a Private Program?

A quality autism program is defined by several key factors that are essential to meet the needs of students within these programs. The increase in children diagnosed on the autism spectrum is having a drastic impact on public schools. The number of students being educated in their local school districts has increased over the past years. It is vital that school districts develop and implement programs that can be defined as quality programs. Over the past 15 years, we have seen an increased interest from the public schools in designing and implementing autism programs in their schools. While there are occasions when the motivation for designing and implementing a public school autism program has been cost containment, there are many school districts that are attempting to provide quality autism services in the public school because it is best for the students they serve.  These programs have served as a model for what is necessary for public school districts to successfully provide autism services.  In reviewing successful programs, there are several critical components that must be successfully established within the public school setting in order for students to benefit from autism services in such a setting.  Knowledge of autism spectrum disorder is a critical component to stabilize an autism program; from direct care staff to administrators, there must be an understanding of the unique needs of students with ASD. Next, public school autism programs must be committed to a philosophy of teaching as well as a mission.  What is their goal for their students? The next critical component is administrative support. A public school autism program cannot be successful long term if administration does not understand and fully support the program, not only educationally but also fiscally.  The next component is program attributes, such as full day services, twelve month programming; low student to teacher ratio; related services integrated with the philosophy of the program, specialized curriculum and necessary support services.  Staff training is another critical component.  This part is vital because without it an autism program cannot exist.  Staff need to be well versed in the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the application of these techniques into a public school setting.  Next, is staff management, it necessary for staff to understand their job responsibilities as well as define role of child study team and building administration.  The last component of a quality program is evaluation.  It must be clear how we success will be measured.  Progress of students, parents’ satisfaction and staff performance must all be monitored and evaluated regularly. There are unique challenges that a quality autism program present in a public school environment.  Issues such as inclusion, staff retention, consistency over time, discipline policies need to addressed and action plans developed to overcome.