Educator preparedness for teaching children on the autism spectrum

While ASD is the fastest growing developmental disability, research regarding how to serve these students is still lacking. Additional information regarding teachers and para educators’ perceptions is needed to better inform preparation programs and professional development. In order to gather additional information, focus groups are conducted with pre-service and practicing teachers and para educators to explore concerns they have about children with ASD, including struggles they are having,strategies they have used and training they feel is effective. Teachers and para educators from one Midwest state are suggested participants in the focus groups. It is hypothesized that teachers and para educators feel more information and support is needed to serve children with ASD. This proposal provides a description of the research surrounding teaching children with ASD and a proposed methodology to explore pre-service and in-service general, special and para educator perceptions of ASD training