In the development of the individualized education program for a student who has a disability of Autism the IEP team shall consider all of the following factors:
1. The verbal and nonverbal communication needs of the child.
2. The need to develop social interaction skills and proficiencies.
3. The needs resulting from the child’s unusual responses to sensory experiences.
4. The needs resulting from resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines.
5. The needs resulting from engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements.
6. The need for any positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address any behavioral difficulties resulting from autism spectrum disorder.
7. Other needs resulting from the child’s disability that impact progress in the general curriculum, including social and emotional development.
Autism Considerations: A workable Document
The three main characteristics of autism are: 1. impaired social development, 2. diminished communication skills, and 3. restrictive/repetitive behavior. The disorder is highly variable and is now described in terms of a spectrum rather than a set of discrete categories. For example, Asperger’s, once classified separately, is now considered by many experts to be a form of high-functioning autism. ( DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
