Examining the quality of life outcomes and supports of autistic people, particularly without proxies, is important to inform research and service delivery -- not only for it to be more evidenced-based, but also to ensure services and supports are successfully supporting autistic people in ways that are important to them. The aim of this…

Autistic children tend to show divergent social information processing, and controversies exist regarding the mechanisms underlying this processing. In this article, we summarize and categorize the current theories and evidence related to hypo- and hyperarousal accounts of social information processing in autism. The hypo-arousal account proposes…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in less physical activity than typically-developing peers. This can result in serious negative consequences for individual well-being and may contribute to the physical, behavioral, and emotional challenges associated with ASD. This study explored the potential benefits of trainer-led,…

Individual education plan (IEP) quality is a strong predictor of student outcomes and progress towards their goals. In the Republic of Ireland, unlike many other jurisdictions, IEPs are not compulsory, regulated or assessed. Therefore, the aim of our co-produced, mixed-methods study was to identify and understand the IEP priorities of the autistic…

Autistic students are educated in Australia across a variety of contexts and almost all educators use individualized goal-setting as a way of ensuring appropriate accommodations and curriculum modifications. Educators experience similar challenges when developing individualized goals for students, including lack of a standardized process for goal…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive, multi-site case study was to determine the criteria individualized education program (IEP) teams used to find the least restrictive environment (LRE) placement for a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at the elementary school level. The theoretical framework of this study was Maslow's theory…

The identification of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) occurs in educational and health settings. Many children with autism will only receive a classification of autism in the educational setting (Esler et al., 2022, Pettygrove et al., 2013, Wiggins et al., 2020). There is significant overlap between the early intervention offered to children with…

The purpose of this guidance document is to: 1) provide education-related information about autism spectrum disorders (ASD); and 2) assist Individualized Education Program (IEP) Teams, including parents, develop researched-based educational programs for children and youth who qualify for special education services under the autism disability…

Academically talented students with autism, also known as twice-exceptional students with autism (2eASD), are increasingly identified in school. These students present challenges to educators who attempt to plan and implement successful instructional opportunities, as teachers' knowledge and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for students…

To understand the process by which evidence-based practices (EBPs) move from identification as effective through research establishing empirically validated effects, to being routinely adopted to bring about meaningful impact, we examined the selection/adaptation process within a well-established consultation model, COMPASS, applying two…

The aims of this study were to (a) characterize the prevalence and interrelationship of Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals in academic (reading, writing, math) and developmental (language, social skills, behavioral) domains in a large U.S. national sample of autistic children across the elementary and secondary grade levels and (b)…

This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore the perspectives of Mexican American fathers with children diagnosed within the context of the public school's special education system and Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. The study focused on understanding the experiences of ten Mexican American fathers to shed light on…

Students with autism spectrum disorders enrolled in special education programs during high school have continued to be at risk of negative outcomes after high school. Researchers have noted the number of students with autism and the cost of educating students with autism were rising. The purpose of this study was to gain the perspectives of…

COMPASS is an educational intervention aimed at supporting individualised goal setting for students on the autism spectrum. Although its effectiveness is supported by quantitative data, little qualitative research has explored the perceived benefits and challenges of implementing COMPASS with community consultants. In the present qualitative…

Individual education programs (IEPs) are the cornerstone of special education programs. The persistence of poor in- and post-school outcomes for students with significant disabilities highlights the importance of developing well-designed IEPs to address their multifaceted needs. We conducted a content analysis of IEPs for 150 high school students…