Services for children with autism spectrum disorder in three, large urban school districts: Perspectives of parents and educators.

Suzannah and her team visited three big-city school districts. They talked with 42 parents and 36 educators about autism services.

The chats were long and open-ended. The goal was to learn why these schools struggled to serve autistic students.

Three roadblocks popped up in every district. Staff fought with each other. Training was too general. The school culture felt unwelcoming.

Parents said they had to push hard to get basic help. Teachers said they had never been shown how to teach an autistic child.

Colombo et al. (2021) asked 400 BCBAs the same question and got the same answer: half had zero training before their first severe-behavior case. The 2015 schools and the 2021 survey echo each other—practical ASD training is missing.

Van Cleave et al. (2018) moved the lens to pediatric clinics. Doctors and nurses also said, “We need hands-on ASD guidance.” The barrier list is almost identical: poor teamwork and weak training.

Sevon (2022) adds a twist. The author says turf wars can hide racial bias. When staff clash, Black students are more likely to be removed, not helped. Suzannah et al. saw tension; Sevon names one possible root.

Kemmerer et al. (2023) scanned the caregiver-training studies. Most papers measured social validity only at the end and used vague forms. The gap spotted in 2015—weak training design—is still unfilled eight years later.

Your next in-service should model real classroom moments, not slides. Pair teachers, aides, and parents in the same room. Run a 10-minute mock lesson with an autistic volunteer student. Stop every two minutes to ask, “What could we do differently?” This live, shared practice chips away at both tension and training gaps in one swoop.