Including Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders into Less Restrictive Educational Settings

Federal law mandates that students with autism and other disabilities receive educational services designed to meet their individual needs according to the principle of "Least Restrictive Environment" (LRE), the legal standard for providing a free, appropriate education. Students with autism typically demonstrate significant deficits in the area of socialization and interaction. They do not naturally know how to share, make friends, or interpret the facial expressions and emotions of others. Conversational skills may be weak or lacking. Many have difficulty generalizing skills from one setting to another and may not able to grasp information through subtle environmental cues. A model for supported inclusion has been developed to assist those students that can benefit from less restrictive settings a systematic process to help ensure a successful transition into these settings. Comprehensive assessments should be conducted to evaluate the skills needed in order to successfully transition. Supports, based on the philosophy of applied behavior analysis, should be provided by trained personnel, and data and other objective measures provide the basis for student evaluation and program decisions. This manual was developed to provide this practical information.