Special Education teachers play an essential role in preparing future generations, including students with Autism spectrum Disorder (ASD). Special education (SPED) teachers must be prepared to teach students with ASD to perform their duties effectively. This dissertation aims to describe professional development's roles and identifies effective themes in facilitating professional development that would prepare special education teachers in developing and developed countries to help students with ASD meaningfully. Since students with ASD require specialized instruction to meet their needs, special education teachers must be enrolled in effective professional development. An effective professional development plan would guide special education teachers to serve students with ASD. Progressive education, multiple intelligence, and self-efficacy theories were applied to this dissertation. Five special education teachers from five elementary public schools in the southwestern United States were interviewed. A Semi-Structured Interview was used to gather the data. Eight open-ended questions were asked to explore professional development from special education teachers' perspectives. The findings of this study confirmed that special education teachers are more likely to hold negative attitudes because of the lack of access to professional development related to ASD. Enrolling in teacher professional development should be required to teach students with ASD. Four components were recognized to help SPED teachers benefit significantly from professional development. A collaboration between special education teachers and people working closely with students with ASD, training accessibility, and applying knowledge and practices regarding ASD should be considered in professional development. More practices are needed to develop special education teachers' instructions. Recommendations were made for future research and practices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]