Curriculum Programming in the General Education Setting for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The location that children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are receiving specially designed instruction and related services is changing from self-contained to general education settings. General educators, who deliver instruction based on the Response to Intervention (RTI) process, may not know how to fully incorporate the data-based individualization (DBI) approach or the ASD-specific evidence-based strategies to deliver effective instruction for students with ASD. On the other hand, special educators are most likely capable of providing evidence-based strategies within their self-contained classrooms; however, their interpretation and implementation of evidence-based strategies might not translate effectively to the general education setting. The intent of this article is to provide a road map for both general and special educators to consider when designing curriculum to meet the individualized needs of their students with ASD in the general education environment.