special education funding a dd es r sing aautismutism a · supported programs for autism increased...

www.DistrictAdministration.com October 2007 43

A

FUNDING

AS THE FASTEST GROWING DEVELopmental disability, autism presents one of the greatest special education challenges fac-ing school districts today. In February, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released data showing that about 1 child in 150 has a form of autism, when previous estimates put the fi gure at 4 or 5 per 10,000. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of children age 3 to 21 in federally supported programs for autism increased from 22,000 in the 1993-1994 school year to 223,000 in 2005-2006.

Autism is a complex brain disorder char-acterized by diffi culties interacting with people and communicating verbally and nonverbally. People with autism also exhibit repetitive behaviors and interests, and they may have unusual responses to sensory experiences, such as the way something looks or sounds. Th e barely audible buzz of a fl uorescent light just beginning to fl icker might cause ear-splitting pain for a child with autism. Its various forms, including Asperger syndrome and autistic disorder, are known broadly as autism spectrum dis-orders (ASD), though autism is often used as an umbrella term.

Among the most important characteris-tics of autism, and one that creates a great challenge for schools, is that it is so diff erent

for every person. While there are specifi c techniques that are known to be eff ective, one teaching methodology is not appropri-ate for all children with ASD. In addition, children with autism require services at home and in the community to help them “generalize” what they learn in school to other settings. Children with ASD may also need speech, occupational, behavioral and other therapies.

“Superintendents and school business offi cials need to understand there’s no way to shortcut these services for these chil-dren,” says Catherine Conrado, adminis-trative director of special services for the Lodi Unifi ed School District in California’s Central Valley region, about 90 miles east of San Francisco. “Th ey are high cost and high intensity, and you need to be able to budget for that because there’s no way we get enough from state and federal sources.”

Explosive growth in autism cases is often attributed to better diagnosis and a wider range of disorders characterized as ASD rather than a true increase in prevalence over the past decade. Faced with legislative man-dates, parental demands, the threat of litiga-tion, limited fi nancial resources and a rapid fl ow of information—and controversy—about treatments and instructional strate-gies, district administrators are strug-

BY LESLIE WERSTEIN HANN

How school

districts can

improve

prospects

for students

with autism.

AddressingAddressing

AutismAutism

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Autism.indd 43Autism.indd 43 9/19/07 10:14:01 AM9/19/07 10:14:01 AM

44 October 2007 District Administration

SPECIAL EDUCATION

gling to fi nd the best way to improve the prospects for their students with autism.

Pivitol Role of EducationTh e primary treatment for autism is edu-cation, and the earlier it starts the more likely it is to produce a positive outcome. In its 2001 book Educating Children with Autism, a committee of the National Research Council explored various treat-ments and instructional models and laid out the elements of eff ective education programs. But it also commented on the disconnect between the quality of model programs and the reality of most publicly funded early education programs.

Six years later, the quality of services off ered by public schools has improved greatly for children with autism, says Kathy Savage, who coordinates autism programs for Plano Independent School District in suburban Dallas. However, she adds, “the more we know the more we realize how much we still don’t really know.”

Before working in affl uent Plano, which has about 500 children with ASD among its 53,000 students, Savage worked in a large, urban district in Texas and before that a regional center that served rural and smaller suburban dis-tricts. Sometimes school administrators in other districts will state categorically “that ‘we do it this way,’ thinking there’s one right way to do things,” Savage says. By contrast, “we never want to say we are the best we can be. We always ask, What more can we do for this child to help him meet his full potential?”

Bryna Siegel, director of the Autism Clinic at the University of California-San Francisco, consults with many district administrators. She laments the fact that many administrators are satisfi ed to create a legally defensible program, rather than striving to provide individualized pro-grams that help each child make the best

possible progress that will be meaningful for that child’s future. Part of the problem, Siegel believes, lies in unrealistic expecta-tions of some upwardly mobile parents. She urges administrators to “make sure they give parents accurate information about what to expect in their children’s development” and to ensure that educa-tional goals on the individualized educa-tion program (IEP) consider the child’s prognosis. “If educational administrators don’t bite the bullet and tell the parent what’s really happening, pretty soon it turns around and bites them,” Siegel says.

Pleasantville Union Free School DistrictTh e Pleasantville Union Free School District in Westchester County, N.Y., always had a reputation for providing high quality special education services, especially for children with learning dis-abilities. Until a few years ago, however, the district was incapable of serving its growing population of children with autism-related disorders. Like many small districts, Pleasantville, which serves 1,800 K12 students, was paying mightily—well over $65,000 in tuition, transportation and other service costs— to educate each student with autism at an out-of-district program run by the local educational ser-vices cooperative, BOCES, or Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

But parents began insisting that their children be able to attend the local school, especially since many of them were doing well in mainstream preschool classes with

the support of a special education teacher. Th e Individuals with Disabilities Educa-tion Act requires schools to provide a free, appropriate education in the “least restric-tive environment,” so Pleasantville district leaders gave it a try. Th e program started in 2003 with two children; the following year, four more autistic children entered kindergarten at Bedford Road School, the district’s elementary school.

Pleasantville uses three models—full mainstreaming with classroom aides, pullouts for direct instruction, and self-contained classrooms—to educate more

than 15 children in the elementary school. Th is year, the district hired a specialist to work with families and another teacher to support close to 10 children with autism in its middle and high schools, providing direct instruction for those who need it. Older students also receive job coaching and community-based instruction, an important but often overlooked compo-nent to help them transition into life after high school.

Now three years later, Pleasantville’s autism program is very well regarded, enough so that it was recently listed as a selling point in a real estate ad for a high priced house. Key elements of the district’s success include its willingness to budget for experienced staff and the fl exibility to adapt the program to the changing needs of the individual children being served.

“We have demonstrated that not only have we ended up providing a higher qual-ity of education,” says Carolyn McGuf-

A boy sits in a neat classroom in the Lodi Unifi ed School District

in California. A neat desk, center, reduces distractions and anxiety in

the same district.

“Not only have we ended up providing a higher quality of education, but we are doing it at a substantial savings.”

—Carolyn McGuffog, director of educational services, Pleasantville (N.Y.) Union Free School District



fog, the district’s director of educational services, “but we are doing it at a substan-tial cost savings for the district.

“I’m very proud of what we’re doing,” McGuff og adds, “but I’m anxious for other districts to do it too.”

Mainstreaming TrendWhile some children with autism attend special schools—both public and pri-vate—the prevailing winds are defi nitely blowing in the other direction. “Th ere are and have been special schools for autism because the behaviors can be so challeng-ing and there’s such a great push for spe-cialized approaches,” says Linda Hickson, director of the Center for Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Disabili-ties at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York. “But the trend is toward serving more children in-district, and the challenge for district administra-tors is fi nding how best to serve children in their regular schools so they can be there with their peers.”

Th e decision on when a child is best served in the home district or outside depends on the circumstance. “My question in every meeting with parents and teachers is, What are the child’s characteristics? What does he or she need to learn, and where can the child best be taught that information?” says Brenda Smith Myles, chief of programs and development at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence, a feder-ally funded information clearinghouse under the Ohio Department of Educa-tion, Offi ce for Exceptional Children. “In most cases, public schools should be able to provide that.”

Even as the trend is toward mainstream-ing, new specialized autism programs are opening. In August, the Florida Autism Center of Excellence, a charter school, opened its doors in Tampa. Th e school

Educational Approaches to AutismAUTISM IS CAUSED BY ABNORMALITIES IN THE BRAIN, BUT THE CAUSE of the abnormalities is unclear. Genetics is an important area for research. And while some think there is a connection, recent studies have found no link between vaccines and autism.

Education is the primary treatment for autism, and until researchers unlock the mystery of what causes this complex condition, “we don’t know enough about the causes to draw implications for educational practice,” says Linda Hickson, director of the Center for Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Disabilities at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York.

For now, districts rely on various approaches that address the communi-cation, social, sensory and behavioral diffi culties associated with autism. The Autism Society of America, Autism Speaks, and many other autism-related organizations with Web sites provide summaries of the most common educa-tional and treatment approaches.

Many treatments today are based on applied behavioral analysis (ABA), which is designed to teach skills by rewarding wanted behaviors. Children often work one-on-one with a teacher for 30 to 40 hours a week. Tasks are broken down into small subskills taught through repeated practice. Rewards are used to reinforce positive behaviors.

Another approach, called Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH), is a North Carolina program that has been widely adopted. TEACCH developed the intervention known as “structured teaching.”

Structured teaching starts with the development of an individualized and family-centered plan for each student and involves structuring the physical environment and using visual supports to make the sequence of daily activities predictable and individual tasks understandable.

The Lodi Unifi ed School District in California has structured classes to meet the needs of some children with ASD. In structured classrooms, the physical space is set up to reduce distractions, “increase routine and predictability, and reduce anxiety and unwanted behaviors,” says Catherine Conrado, administra-tive director of special services. Classroom workspaces are defi ned by visual barriers, such as dividers and bookcases; only critical materials are displayed; and workspaces on desks have table mats and closed containers with printed labels or pictures.

Visual “schedules” are created in a variety of formats, but most have icons to help students know in what order activities for the day will occur. Students move an icon to another place to denote that an activity has been completed. “We order huge quantities of Velcro,” Conrado says.Here are a few other common strategies:

Picture Exchange Communication Systems uses ABA-based methods to help people with ASD acquire functional communication skills.

Pivotal Response Treatment targets critical areas of a child’s development, such as motivation, instead of individual behaviors.

DIR/Floortime is an educational approach that emphasizes emotional devel-opment rather than cognitive development and works on the building blocks of relating, communicating and thinking.

SCERTS is an educational program that addresses social communication, emotional regulation and transactional support (which spells out the acro-nym) as the core challenges for children with ASD.



aims to serve up to 200 students, ages 3 to 22, with individualized programs based on research-based instructional strategies. “We’ve really been able to tap into the research out there on the best practices for educating students with autism,” says Shannon Moss, behavior analyst program director. Th e 140-acre campus includes game rooms, computer labs, horse stables, a gym, basketball courts and a boathouse with canoes. Older students can also learn job skills at a campus snack bar and store, says Marc Lavett, executive director.

FACE, the fi rst charter school of its kind in Florida, received $700,000 in seed money from the Florida Department of Education. It is managed by Educa-tional Services of America, which runs more than 120 special education and alternative schools, including 38 private schools in Florida.

Fundamentals for SuccessEducating Children with Autism sets out these fundamentals for successful edu-

cational programs: early entry into an intervention program; active engagement in intensive instructional programming for a full school day for at least fi ve days a week with full-year programming; use of planned teaching opportunities orga-nized around brief periods of time for the youngest children; and suffi cient amounts of adult attention in one-to-one or very small group settings to meet individual-ized goals.

Even though there is consensus about the necessary elements for a successful autism program, many districts have dif-fi culty translating ideas into action. One reason is the dearth of teachers prepared to work with children who have ASD. Special education and general education teach-ers without that experience misinterpret the behaviors that children with autism exhibit and don’t know how to apply the necessary interventions in the classroom.

“Most professionals don’t truly know what autism is, and if they don’t they tend to think the behavior is willful disobedi-

ence,” says Brenda Smith Myles, chief of programs and development at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence. “Th ey do not know that children with autism spectrum disorders don’t have within them that automatic mechanism to calm themselves down. Th ey don’t understand that children with autism have social problems. Also, teachers largely don’t understand the sensory challenges of our kids. People don’t understand that the underlying characteristics of children with autism have an impact on their day-to-day performance.”

Multiple ApproachesTh ere’s also a great deal of confusion about which approaches and interventions to use, says Hickson. As a consequence, districts may rely on one strategy—often based on the well-researched and well-entrenched applied behavioral analysis theory (ABA)—to the exclusion of other promising approaches.

ABA is the basis for intensive

SPECIAL EDUCATION



instruction and behavior-management treatments designed to reinforce wanted behaviors and reduce unwanted behav-iors. A common application of ABA the-ory is discrete trial training, an intensive approach in which children often work one on one with a teacher for 30 to 40 hours a week. Tasks are broken down into small subskills taught through repeated practice. Rewards are used to reinforce positive behaviors.

“District administrators should join with parents in setting criteria for which approaches to include,” Hickson says. “My advice would be to off er more than one approach, as long as they are research based, to give parents options.”

Th e understandable challenge, Hick-son says, is that while some approaches are based on years of research, they may not have yet produced a wealth of evi-dence to support their use in the class-

room. Citing just one of several worth-while approaches, Hickson points to the work of UCLA’s Connie Kasari and Marian Sigman on the eff ectiveness of targeted interventions for joint attention and symbolic play, two core defi cits in young children with autism. Hickson’s goal is to introduce teachers and adminis-trators to other promising research-based approaches. “ABA is essential, but it’s not the be all and end all,” Hickson says. “I think schools should continue to look at alternative approaches.”

While there is no one-size-fi ts-all solu-tion, autism experts inside and outside school districts nationwide point to fea-tures that distinguish successful public school programs.

Early InterventionEveryone benefi ts when schools get involved early and work closely with families and the agencies that serve them. Early, intensive intervention can have long-lasting eff ects in a child’s school years when it is focused on core defi cits in autism, Hickson says. Th e fi rst step is early diagnosis. Federally funded research published in July’s Archives of General Psychiatry found that about half of chil-dren with ASD can be diagnosed soon after their fi rst birthday. Autism disor-ders usually can be reliably detected by age 3, though it is estimated that only 50 percent of children are diagnosed before kindergarten, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Siegel urges school administrators to work closely with the local organiza-tion responsible for providing services for children from birth up to age 3. Th e goal should be seamless, coordinated ser-vices that extend from the time the child is diagnosed through the transition to adulthood. In an ideal situation, Siegel says, the neighborhood school becomes the early services provider.

Th e Lodi Unifi ed School District has a close working relationship with the medical community and the state-funded social services agency that provides early intervention services, and it continues to provide home services when children

SPECIAL EDUCATION



child’s needs and strengths to research-based strategies and interventions that have been proven to work. “We know our children need sensory supports, they need reinforcement, they need visual structure and supports, they need the task demands of their environment assessed to see what we are requiring of them, they need social and communication skills, and then, fi nally, they need generalization activities,” Myles says. Th at might mean a trip to the secretary’s offi ce after a classroom lesson on asking for help. “One of the things our kids are famous for is learning a skill in one environment and not knowing how to use it elsewhere,” she says.

Successful programs off er diff erent models of instruction and diff erent set-tings, depending on the needs of the child. Th ey range from self-contained classrooms that provide structured teach-ing all day, to direct instruction for part of the day, to full inclusion with the help of an instructional aide.

with ASD are in school. “It’s critical to have a good relationship

with whatever entity serves the family, because you have to be giving the family similar information and you have to have similar goals for the child,” Conrado says. “Schools can’t do it alone, and the agen-cies can’t do it alone.”

Pleasantville hired a full-time staff person to address the continuity between the school and home and to provide community-based instruction one day a week after school. As a “family trainer,” the primary job is working with parents and children to help carry over the skills learned in school to home. But by observ-ing the child in class and meeting regu-

larly with teachers and the speech and occupational therapists, she will “carry all the same strategies and techniques from school into the home,” McGuff og says.

Districts with good programs have strong parent involvement and collabora-tion. “Th at may be one of the most impor-tant elements,” Myles says.

Comprehensive PlanningSchools with successful autism programs do comprehensive educational planning, off er a range of educational opportunities, and ensure that individualized interven-tions are integrated into the child’s daily program. Comprehensive planning begins with understanding the characteristics of autism in each child and matching the

www.solution-tree.com

Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and LearningJoin colleagues who are lighting the way for a revolutionary change in assessment practices. You will be challenged and inspired by bold ideas and recommendations addressing one of the most crucial, confounding issues administrators face! Based on the anthology, Ahead of the Curve.

Solution TreeAssessment Summit

Ahead of the CurveEdited by Douglas ReevesBreak through the bell curve with this anthology of powerful perspectives from assessment luminaries.BKF232 $29.95 (plus 6% shipping and $4 handling)

featuring Larry Ainsworth

Lisa Almeida

Anne Davies

Linda Gregg

Thomas Guskey

Ken O’Connor

Douglas Reeves

Rick Stiggins

Stephen White

Dylan Wiliam

REGISTER TODAY!

800.733.6786

ORDER TODAY!

October 24–27Gwinnett Center

Atlanta, GA

Here are “schedules” for autistic children. Activities are listed in words or pictures.

Among the most important characteristics of autism, and one that creates a great challenge for schools, is that it is so different for every person.

SPECIAL EDUCATION



Teachers need clear training and sup-port in how to apply those interventions in the classroom. Sometimes teachers will learn a great strategy for helping children with ASD, Myles says, but they don’t learn how to integrate it into a child’s program. Th is is true in both inclusive and special education classrooms. She recommends that teachers have a one- to two-page document that describes exactly what supports the child’s needs during each activity period, such as visual schedules; “priming,” a technique that exposes chil-dren to assignments before their presenta-tion in class; and “choice boards,” which provide a visual display of options.

Hiring SpecialistsDistricts with successful autism programs also hire people with expertise and experi-ence in dealing with ASD. Specialists are necessary not just to work one-on-one or in small groups with children, but they must be qualifi ed to train and support special education and general education teachers—as well as school administra-tors—concerning the characteristics of autism. Support staff also should have prior experience working with people with autism or training if they don’t.

In addition to specially trained teachers in structured classrooms, a roving autism teacher provides support for administra-tors, general and special ed teachers, and instructional aides who help ASD chil-dren in mainstream classes throughout the Lodi district, which serves almost 30,000 students. At the district level, three of the eight program specialists also have expertise in autism. Th ey handle the most sensitive and complex IEP meetings and serve as Conrado’s “training experts.” Th ey train teachers and principals and have relationships with the regional cen-ter that provides services to the families. “Principals need to understand the stu-dents as well so they don’t discipline them improperly,” Conrado says.

Successful districts also invest in con-tinuing education for the autism profes-

sionals to keep them up-to-date on new research and strategies.

Thinking about ResultsDistricts with successful programs “begin with the end in mind,” according to Myles. At the upper grades, that means providing functional training, from basic

living skills—getting dressed, perform-ing household tasks, and doing things safely—to supported employment. A district’s ability to help a child with ASD transition to life outside of school may be the greatest testament to the success of its autism program, but today it still remains one of the greatest weaknesses for most districts, says Siegel.

In successful districts, the philosophy of “beginning with the end in mind” starts early. “If you have a fi rst-grader, you don’t think, ‘What do I have to do to get this child through fi rst grade?’” Myles says. “You ask, ‘What does this child need in one year, in fi ve years, in seven years?’ so that the program is always focused on the future.”

Within ReachDistricts like Lodi and Plano, Siegel says, demonstrate that successful programs for children with ASD are not beyond the reach of public schools when district administrators are committed to indi-vidualizing programs to meet the needs of children.

“Th ey have a good range of programs, they do a good job of including kids who can benefi t from inclusion in a general education setting, and they do a good job with the kids who need to be working on a much more functional skills curriculum,” she says. “It’s not like they’ve done some-thing exceptional and unusual. What they’ve done is good quality education, and it doesn’t require six saintlike admin-istrators all working 80 hours a week. Th ey are good people doing a good job in a rea-sonable way. And there’s no reason most school districts can’t be like that.” DA

Leslie Werstein Hann is a freelance writer in New Jersey.

RESOURCES

Autism Society of Americawww.autism-society.org

Autism Speakswww.autismspeaks.org

Autism Education Networkwww.autismeducation.net

Columbia University’s Teachers Col-lege Center for Opportunities and Out-

comes for People with Disabilitieswww.tc.edu/oopd/about.htm

Council for Exceptional Childrenwww.cec.sped.org

DIR/Floor Timewww.fl oortime.org

Educating Children with Autism, Committee on Educational Interventions

for Children with Autism, National Research Council

books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10017

Florida Autism Center of Excellence (FACE)

www.faceprogram.org

Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI)

www.ocali.org

Pivotal Response Treatmentwww.education.ucsb.edu/autism/

index.html

SCERTSwww.scerts.com

TEACCH Autism Programwww.teacch.com

Support for School DistrictsThe Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence is developing 60 online modules on autism spectrum disorders, including characteristics, diagnosis, interventions and supports, transi-tion and employment. They will be available at www.ocali.org beginning in November for use by school districts and parent support groups, says Brenda Smith Myles, chief of programs and development at OCALI.

Myles is also working with the Council for Exceptional Children and the Autism Society of America to jointly develop standards for the preparation of teachers working with children with autism spectrum disorders.


special education funding a dd es r sing aautismutism a · supported programs for autism increased...

Documents