A comparison of teacher and parent views of autism.

Sievert et al. (1988) mailed surveys to parents and teachers of autistic students. They asked both groups what they knew and believed about autism.

The goal was to see if the two groups shared the same picture of the child’s needs.

Parents and teachers both held clear wrong ideas about core autism traits. The two groups also disagreed with each other on several points.

These gaps made joint planning harder before it even started.

McKinlay et al. (2022) later let parents speak in depth. Feeling unheard still tops the list of school complaints, showing the 1988 gap has not closed.

Kiep et al. (2017) found almost zero autism knowledge among Nepali parents and teachers. The 1988 U.S. survey now looks like the first hint of a global pattern.

Saggers et al. (2019) widened the lens by adding allied-health staff. They moved from “people are wrong” to “we need systems for teamwork,” extending the 1988 warning into a roadmap.

Henderson et al. (2023) wrap these threads together. Their review labels respectful collaboration an ethical duty, turning the old misconception data into a call for trainable skills.

Before you write goals, check what the teacher and parent each think autism means. A five-minute compare-and-correct chat can prevent later tug-of-war over strategies. Use plain language, draw simple diagrams, and write a one-page shared summary. When both teams start with the same facts, the child gets consistent cues across settings and intervention time drops.