Summing Up

This fact sheet provides a national picture of the secondary school experiences of students with autism who received special education services under the auspices of school districts at the time they were initially sampled for the study. Students were identified by their school districts as having autism as a primary disability. Criteria for identification as a student with autism differ from state to state, resulting in wide variation among students in the autism disability category. The variation in criteria used and the resulting variation in the ability of students included in the autism category suggest that this category includes those identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and conditions such as Asperger's Syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder.

This fact sheet provides a description of students' secondary school experiences and does not address questions regarding the appropriateness of particular experiences or school practices for students with autism nor is there an intention to imply causality from the data presented in this fact sheet.

Secondary school students with autism take a range of courses in a given semester, with many taking academic, vocational, and other types of courses, such as life skills. Most take classes in both general and special education settings, although they are more likely to take courses in a special than a general education setting.

The curriculum used to instruct the majority of students with autism who are in general education academic classes often is modified to some degree. Reports of most other teacher-directed aspects of the class, such as instructional groupings,¹⁵ materials used, and instructional experiences outside the classroom, are largely the same for students with autism as for their classmates.

This similarity of teacher-directed experiences of students with autism and their peers in general education academic classes contrasts sharply with the differences between the groups in their participation in those classes. Students with autism are consistently reported to be less likely to participate in their general education academic classes than are their classmates.

In addition to academic subjects in general education settings, students with autism take general education vocational classes. Similar to experiences in general education academic courses, many students with autism in general education vocational classes experience the same instructional practices as the class as a whole.

Almost 9 in 10 secondary students with autism take at least one nonvocational special education course in a semester. The use of a general education curriculum without modification is rare in such classes; the large majority of students with autism receive a curriculum with some degree of modification or specialization, or they have no curriculum at all. Students are more likely to receive individual or small group instruction in special education than in general education classes. A variety of instructional materials and equipment are used in nonvocational special education classes, augmented by instructional activities that occur outside the classroom. More than half of those with autism participate in class discussions, respond orally to questions, and work with a peer or group at least sometimes in their nonvocational special education courses.

Almost all secondary students with autism are reported to receive some type of accommodation, modification, support, technology aid, or related service. Additional time to complete assignments and tests and modified tests and assignments are among the more frequent types of accommodations. Instructional support often is provided through monitoring of students' progress by special education teachers and individual help from teacher aides, instructional assistants, or personal aides. Technology aids are less frequently provided than other types of supports and services. In addition to the accommodations and supports they receive in their classes, students with autism receive a variety of related services, addressing a wide range of needs and functional issues. Speech language pathology services are the most frequently received type of service. Almost half of secondary students with autism have a case manager provided from or through their school to help coordinate and oversee services.

This is the third in a series of NLTS2 fact sheets that focus on the experiences and outcomes of youth in a specific disability category. Previous briefs focused on students with ADHD and students with learning disabilities. These and other products from NLTS2 are available at www.nlts2.org.

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