ABSTRACT
Early childhood educators need to consider multiple factors to effectively support children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the preschool years. This chapter focuses on key areas that include a historical perspective, evidence-based practices, assessment of interventions, classroom placements, parent engagement, transitions, and emerging trends in the field. Placement, cost, and selected interventions are all critical considerations related to preschool programming for young children. The increase in prevalence of ASD has led researchers to focus on the identification of evidence-based practices to support skill acquisition. Key areas include environmental supports (e.g., antecedent based interventions, visual supports), behavioral supports (e.g., functional communication training, reinforcement), and instructional supports (e.g., direct instruction, social narratives). Assessment of interventions is an integral part of the instructional process to determine impacts for each child. These include examining cultural factors, ensuring a comprehensive team approach and a focus on both generalization and maintenance of learned skills. Classroom design is examined since most students are taught in inclusive spaces. Key areas include organization and predictability within the environment, teaching routines, and flexibility. Parent engagement focuses on establishing trust, communication systems, involving families in key decisions, and family involvement in the classroom. Emerging trends in the field focus on diagnosis, continued improvement for supports and access to services, inclusion, transitions, and a strength-based perspective. This chapter contains a case study example throughout that allows readers to connect practices to real-life examples and their own settings. Lastly, discussion questions support integrating the chapter into an existing course curriculum.
