Special Education: Children with Autism

摘要

To determine the number of children diagnosed with autism served under IDEA, we relied on data collected for the Department of Education (Education). To describe the services provided to children with autism, we reviewed relevant literature and spoke with Education officials. To describe the estimates of per pupil expenditures for educating children with autism, we reviewed data collected and analyzed by the Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP), which was funded by Education and was the only national source of this type of data. We spoke with Education officials about the proper use and reliability of the data we used and found them to be sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report. However, some weaknesses with the SEEP data exist, including a low survey response rate, potential response bias, and limited documentation. Finally, to describe approaches to the education of children with autism, we reviewed a 2001 report by the National Research Council on the education of children with autism. We conducted our work between November and December 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. On December 13, 2004, we briefed your staff on the results of our study. This report formally conveys the information provided during that briefing.