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Program Review

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Executive Summary

Click here to read the full report.

 

Staff from the University of Washington Autism Center reviewed the district’s services for students with ASD during 5 full days on-site. General and special education programs were observed in six schools. Parent responses to a survey and from a parent meeting are summarized as well as comments from building administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals.

Strengths identified center on classroom structure, visual supports to assist children in communicating, IEPs, and the capacity building efforts brought to the program by the autism specialist.

As requested, the report focuses on detailed recommendations and suggestions for program improvement. Recommendations fall within nine areas some of which describe and validate, areas of change that special education staff have begun to address earlier this school year.

  1. Staff training needs to occur at all levels for all special and general education staff, as well as peers who interface with this group of children.
  2. Consistency and proactive strategies in communication between parents and school staff need to be implemented.
  3. Instructional methodologies should increase our emphasis on language, play and non-verbal communication in the curriculum, emotional regulation, independence skills as well as increase the intensity of instruction. The amount of para-educator support utilized with ASD students should be reevaluated.
  4. Data collection needs to relate daily work to IEP goals and be used to modify strategies if there is a lack of progress.
  5. Use of naturalistic materials is encouraged.
  6. Development of standard parameters for the use of containment rooms is encouraged, including criteria, clarity, and emotion regulation procedures used, and how data is collected and used.
  7. It is important to develop a protocol for when it is meaningful to include students with ASD in general education.
  8. It is important to articulate a process for parents for transitioning students so that they know what to expect.
  9. The IEP process needs to be clear how goals are derived and consider developmental sequences. It would be helpful to include someone familiar with various available educational curricula.