Matching children on the autism spectrum to classrooms: a guide for parents and professionals.

Delmolino et al. (2012) wrote a how-to guide for picking the right classroom for kids with autism. They list six buckets to check: the child, the setting, the teacher, the school philosophy, the assessment plan, and family needs.

The paper is a position piece, not an experiment. It gives you a structured checklist instead of new data.

The authors did not collect new numbers. They organized best-practice advice into one tidy form you can take to an IEP meeting.

The payoff is a single-page worksheet that stops placement decisions from boiling down to “whatever the district has open.”

McMahon et al. (2014) took the same six buckets and added measurement tools. Their Evaluation Framework turns Lara’s checklist into scored items you can track over time.

Simpson et al. (2001) and Crosland et al. (2012) catalogued ABA tactics for inclusive rooms. Lara folds those tactics under the ‘instructor skills’ and ‘setting supports’ sections, so the checklist already embeds strategies like peer tutoring and self-monitoring.

Ilan et al. (2021) looked at real preschool placements and found that IQ and autism severity barely predict where kids end up. That real-world messiness is exactly why Lara says to weigh six factors, not just test scores.

Next time you consult on a school move, print the checklist and fill it out with the family. It keeps the team talking about fit instead of availability. You can also use it to show administrators why a specific placement is (or isn’t) appropriate without getting lost in jargon.