Psychoeducational intervention in students with autism spectrum disorders in primary education

Although there are psychoeducational interventions based on research for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) validated empirically, many teachers and specialists often lack the knowledge, skills and necessary opportunities to apply them correctly (Simpson 2004; Sack-Min, 2008). The aim of this study is to define the knowledge and enforcement of the professionals who work in the psychoeducational interventions for students with ASD. Based on current systematic reviews of interventions in ASD, a list of programs based on different levels of empirical evidence was developed. According to this list and the study of Hess et al. (2008) a questionnaire was carried out to collect data on the knowledge and application of those programs. The results show that professionals’ knowledge is adequate as well as the use of the intervention programs in the schools of Special Educational Needs. Differences were only found in the usage of these interventions by Therapeutic Pedagogy teachers. A school’s network might be implemented to better transfer knowledge to those which have less resources