About Project Mosaic-Need for Project

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
Department of Special Education-College of Education

Autism Spectrum Program

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About Project Mosaic

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Autism on the Rise

Throughout the nation (most notably in California) the rapid rise in the incidence of children identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has reached epidemic proportions. ASD refers here to a broad definition of autism, including classic autism, Asperger syndrome and other pervasive developmental disorders, all of which share core characteristics.

Ten years ago, one in 10,000 children nationally was diagnosed with ASD while today estimates are as high as one in 150 (Center for Disease Control, 2008). This presents unprecedented challenges to the educational community mandated to provide appropriate educational services by highly qualified personnel (Yell, Drasgow, & Lowrey, 2005). There is a pressing need to increase the number, quality, and diversity of educators who are fully credentialed and competent to serve students with autism from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds in diverse settings.

Autism is the fastest growing special education eligibility category for public education across the nation (USDE, 2006). Within the past decade, ASD increased at a disproportionate rate of more than fifty times higher than other identified disability groups served under IDEA. Moreover, the number of these students who spend a major portion of the school day in general education has tripled. Currently, over 200,000 children with autism ages 3 to 22 receive special education services at an annual estimated cost of 6.5 billion dollars (fightingautism.org).

In California, since 1992, the rate of autism skyrocketed from approximately 2,000 to over 30,000 children, with over half attending public schools within Northern California. The highest concentration of this population is in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the largest U.S. urban areas, spanning three major cities (California Department of Developmental Services (CDDS), 2006; CDE, 2006). Because not all students with ASD receive special education services under the classification of “Autism,” it is likely that these child count data underestimate the actual prevalence of students with autism served under IDEA.

Need for Qualified Educators

As the number of children with autism is rising, the number of qualified educators is not keeping up. A major contributing factor is that school districts across the nation are facing chronic teacher shortages in special education (McLesky, Tyler, & Flippin, 2004). The President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education in 2002 estimated that 600,000 eligible students lack the support of a qualified special educator to address their individual needs. Moreover, nearly 40,000 special education positions are filled by individuals who lack credentials and the requisite knowledge and skills to qualify as special educators. The shortage of qualified special educators is particularly critical in California, which has the largest population in the U.S.

Because of teacher shortages, school districts have hired record numbers of special educators on “intern credentials” while they are completing a credential program (Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, 2004). This is in large part due to the increase in identified special education students, especially with ASD who account for the largest increase compared to all other disability groups (CDE, 2006; USDE, 2006). A major drawback to staffing classrooms with interns is that by definition they have not fully completed their preparation. Consequently, this impacts the overall quality of educational programs for this population.

Need for Diversity

Although autism is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls, it knows no other boundaries and cuts across all racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic groups. California's students are the most diverse in the nation with population trends reflected among those qualifying for special education, including those with ASD.

Although public schools are becoming increasingly diverse, the field continues to be dominated by educators of European descent, with 72% in California as compared to 86% nationwide (ED-DATA, 2006). In addition, while people with disabilities represent the largest minority group in the U.S., individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in the teaching profession with best estimates around 4% (ED DATA, 2006). As such, there is a critical need for training programs to emphasize the recruitment, preparation and retention of diverse educators. Further, for those educators whose backgrounds do not match those of their students, there is a crucial need to prepare them in the knowledge and skill needed to work effectively with students from diverse cultural and language backgrounds in diverse settings, including high-poverty and urban areas (Banks et al, 2005).

Need for Specialized Preparation in Autism

According to the National Research Council (NRC) (2001), “Personnel preparation remains one of the weakest elements of effective programming for children with autism spectrum disorders and their families (p. 225).” The complex nature and wide spectrum of variability in autism poses a distinct set of challenges for preparing educators to work effectively with this population. The result of a neurological condition, autism affects the most essential of human behaviors including social interaction, communication, language, sensory processing, play, imagination and peer relations (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; World Health Organization, 1992). While changing over the lifespan, the presence of behaviors may manifest in a wide variety of combinations and degrees of intensity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe.

To maximize learning, development, independent functioning and full participation in social, cultural and quality of life experiences, each student with autism requires a mosaic of specialized services and supports, carefully configured by highly knowledgeable and skilled professionals and families (Dunn Buron & Wolfberg, in press). Without adequate instruction, students with ASD will not only fail to learn, but also risk regressing (Scheuermann, Webber, Boutot & Goodwin, 2005).

A major challenge in personnel preparation pertains to credentialing patterns in states where special educators receive preparation in noncategorical programs without additional disability-specific training or certification. This is the case in California where teachers earn noncategorical credentials in a two-tiered entry (preliminary level I) and advanced (clear level II) post-bachelors program. While such programs offer basic generic preparation to teachers, it is highly unlikely that they can adequately prepare educators with the specialized knowledge and skill needed to effectively work with students with ASD (Scheuermann et al, 2005).

Another challenge with personnel preparation is the lack of universally accepted professional standards in ASD (Yell et al, 2005). While there is a growing body of research that has prompted efforts to reach consensus on guidelines for professional competencies (Autism Society of America Foundation Teacher Competencies Project) and effective evidence-based practices at the national (National Autism Center Standards Project) and state levels (California Department of Developmental Services ASD: Guidelines for Effective Interventions), the impact on personnel preparation is yet unknown. As such, existing teacher preparation programs with an ASD emphasis may vary widely in training content (Scheuermann, et al, 2005).

In assessing the needs of our local school districts, special education administrators report that districts carry much of the burden of compensating for the gap in the knowledge and skill of teachers serving students with ASD. To counteract this problem, each district has pieced together their own in-service training programs as well as hired outside contractors to provide services at premium costs. The training content is often piecemeal and fragmented, focusing on a single approach without presenting the larger picture of how such approaches may fit (or not fit) to guide educators in meeting the unique needs of students with ASD and their families (Iovannone, et al, 2003; NRC, 2001; Scheuermann, et al, 2005). With such a pervasive demand for the most up-to-date training, there has been a tremendous amount of overlap and duplication of professional development activities across districts within the same geographic region.

Accumulated evidence underscores the significant need to prepare educators in specialized knowledge, skills and competencies for working effectively with students with ASD from diverse backgrounds. Of critical importance for personnel preparation is providing a comprehensive curriculum that is grounded in up-to-date empirical research and evidence-based practices shown to be effective in improving outcomes for students with ASD. Professional competencies in autism related knowledge and skill must be aligned with national and state standards assuring quality and effectiveness for educational specialist credential programs. Further, it is essential to integrate specialized courses with highly relevant field experiences to optimize opportunities to translate research into effective and meaningful practice. By preparing highly qualified educators in partnership with schools, families and other specialists, students with ASD have the potential to make great progress. In contrast, with inappropriate responses from teachers, these students can experience devastating setbacks and difficulties.

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