文档介绍：GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS NEED TO BE PREPARED TO CO-TEACH
THE INCREASING NUMBER OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS
Vito Loiacono
Long Island University
and
Valerie Valenti
Eastern Suffolk BOCES
The sustained increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has e a widespread concern throughout the US as well as globally. Federal mandates (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], 2004; No Child Left Behind [NCLB]) have directed state education departments and local educational agencies (LEAs) to address the pedagogical needs of these children in the least restrictive environments, namely, inclusive classroom settings. It has been reported that most teachers graduate from university teacher preparation programs with minimum training in evidence-based practices for children diagnosed with autism. Consequently, educators continue to be challenged to learn disability-specific teaching skills that are grounded in the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to address meeting the learning needs of these students. This study examines: (a) the increase of children diagnosed with autism in the Southeastern region of NY over a five year period (2003-2007); and (b) the number of ABA trained general education teachers in this region who co-teach in inclusive classrooms that include children classified with autism.