Practices of Evidence-based Mathematics Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-sectional...

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often require specialized mathematics interventions.
• Evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist but their classroom implementation is variable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine educators' current practices and perceptions of EBPs for teaching mathematics to students with ASD.
• To identify facilitators and barriers to the consistent application of these interventions.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative survey design was utilized.
• Data were collected from 250 teachers in special and inclusive education settings.

Main Results:

• Educators demonstrated high awareness and positive views of EBPs like explicit instruction, concrete-representational-abstract sequence, task analysis, and video modeling.
• While implementation was frequent and benefits for conceptual understanding and generalization were recognized, significant barriers were reported.
• Key challenges included insufficient training, time limitations, resource scarcity, and inadequate institutional support.

Conclusions:

• A persistent research-to-practice gap exists in mathematics education for students with ASD.
• Enhanced professional development, resource allocation, and administrative backing are essential.
• These are necessary to ensure high-fidelity implementation of EBPs and improve mathematical outcomes for students with ASD.