Evaluation and Needs-Based Assessment of Special Education Teachers' Knowledge of Austism Interventions
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is being increasingly identified in children, yet there are only a minimal number of studies examining the use of research-based intervention strategies in a classroom educational setting. This present study examined the use of Discrete Trial Training, Picture Exchange Communication System, Social Stories, Structured Teaching, and Video Self-Modeling by special education teachers with students with ASD. A questionnaire was completed by 91 special education teachers from the Green River Region Educational Cooperative, which encompasses 17 different school districts in the area of western and south central Kentucky. They answered questions about their level of training, knowledge and current use of the five strategies. A correlational analysis was performed to assess whether the years of teaching experience was related to the level of the teacher's training, knowledge and current use of the ASD instructional methods, and whether special teachers who taught a greater number of students with ASD had greater levels of training, knowledge, and current use of the five methods. The study revealed correlations between the numbers of students taught with ASD and some of the levels of training, knowledge, and current use of the interventions.
Education, Psychology, Teacher Education and Professional Development
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