Quality of high school programs for students with autism spectrum disorder

The purpose of the study was to examine the quality of high school programs for students with autism spectrum disorder in the United States. The Autism Program Environment Rating Scale-Middle/High School was used to rate the quality of programs for students with autism spectrum disorder in 60 high schools located in three geographic locations in the United States (CA, NC, and WI). Findings indicated that the total quality rating across schools was slightly above the adequate criterion. Higher quality ratings occurred for program environment, learning climate, family participation, and teaming domains. However, quality ratings for intervention domains related to the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (e.g. communication, social, independence, functional behavior, and transition) were below the adequate quality rating level. Also, quality ratings for transition were significantly higher for modified (primarily self-contained) programs than standard diploma (primarily served in general education) programs. School urbanicity was a significant predictor of program quality, with suburban schools having higher quality ratings than urban or rural schools, controlling for race, school enrollment size, and Title 1 eligibility status. Implications for working with teachers and school teams that support high school students with autism spectrum disorder should include a targeted focus on transition programming that includes a breadth of work-based learning experiences and activities that support social-communication domains.