In Irish classrooms, one option for educating children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves placement in a special class co-located in a mainstream primary school. This study surveyed 125 primary school teachers who taught in these classes. An evaluative framework of teachers' professional development was used to analyse primary teachers'…

School non-attendance in autism spectrum disorders has received very little attention to date. The study aimed to provide a comprehensive description of school non-attendance in students with autism spectrum disorders. Through an online survey, parents of 486 children (mean age: 11 years) reported on school attendance over 1 month and reasons for…

Young people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are widely reported by parents and teachers to be bullied by peers during their school years. Research in this area is still in its relative infancy with the majority of studies quantitative in nature. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate vulnerability to bullying of young…

School is often considered an ideal setting for child social skills training due to the opportunities it provides for skills teaching, modeling, and practice. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of two variants of the Secret Agent Society social skills program for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) in a…

Increasing numbers of students with autism are being educated in mainstream schools. However, outcomes for students with autism are poor when compared to typical students and students with other developmental disabilities. In order to better understand facilitators and barriers to success at school for students with autism, research into the…

The prevalence of autism and related disorders, now categorized under the common thread of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is increasing, with one in 88 children being diagnosed each year. With this increase in prevalence comes an urgent need for interventions that will address the behavioral and learning challenges faced by children with ASD in…

The unique challenges presented by children with autism can quickly overwhelm unprepared teachers. Educators need direction on how to begin to understand and address the behavioral problems and social communication needs of children with autism. They require practical techniques that can be incorporated during naturally occurring instructional…

The authors conducted this study to decrease disruptive vocalizations in a 3rd-grade student with high-functioning autism across 3 general education classrooms. They used direct and indirect approaches of functional behavior assessment to determine the function of the disruptive behavior. Results indicated that the behavior was maintained by…

Background: Although it is well-established that children with language impairment (LI) and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) both show elevated levels of emotional and behavioural problems, the level and types of difficulties across the two groups have not previously been directly compared. Aims: To compare levels of emotional and…

This article investigates the experiences of students diagnosed with autism who change schools during the early primary years in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Using the narratives of eight mothers, the article documents the circumstances leading to school change, usually towards more segregated provision. Mothers highlighted the difficulty of…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to benefit from being educated in general education classrooms that provide interactions with typically developing peers. However, behaviors exhibited by students with ASD frequently lead to their return to segregated special education settings. Evidence-based interventions that are both…

Gender differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms and associated problem behaviours over development may provide clues regarding why more males than females are diagnosed with ASD. Fifty-six high-functioning children with ASD, and 44 typically developing controls, half of the participants female, were assessed at baseline (aged…

The study investigated early years teachers' understanding and use of graphic symbols, defined as the visual representation(s) used to communicate one or more "linguistic" concepts, which can be used to facilitate science learning. The study was conducted in Cyprus where six early years teachers were observed and interviewed. The results…

We evaluated outcomes for 31 children with autism (2-6 years of age at intake) who received behavioral intervention in mainstream pre-school settings and a comparison group of 12 children receiving treatment as usual. After 2 years, children receiving behavioral intervention had higher IQ scores (Hedges g = 1.03 (95% CI = 0.34, 1.72) and adaptive…

There is often intense and passionate debate about the inclusion of those students with the most complex social learning and behavioural needs. This paper, written from a parent's perspective, is based on a case study of a 15-year-old adolescent with severe and high functioning autism that was comparatively well-resourced through the new…