Special Education IEP for Autism

Special Education law requires an IEP be developed for children with autism who meet the requirements for special education services in their state. The IEP for children who have autism more than likely will look different than an IEP for a child with a different diagnosis. This is the case because of the unique development features of autism.

If you are the parent of a child with autism, a student researching autism, or a teacher who has a child with autism in your classroom, there are some fairly common aspects of autism that are typically addressed in an IEP including: 1) social skills, 2) self-regulation, 3) communication, 4) organization, 5) motor and sensory skills, and 6) restricted range of interests.The following information defines theses aspects.

1. Autism and social skills

Affective development is the ability to recognize different types of emotions, to read body language, and to interpret facial expressions.

Behavioral development is the ability to initiate social interactions, develop and maintain friendships, and participate in reciprocal conversations.

Cognitive developmental is the ability to think about how to deal with social situations, to look at social situations from another person's perspective, and to solve social problems.

2. Autism and self-regulation skills

Self regulation development is the ability to remain, or return to a state of calm, when becoming overwhelmed or anxious.

3. Autism and Communication skills

Communication development is the ability to interact with others, verbally or nonverbally to get needs met and to have a social connection.

4. Autism and organization skills

Organization development is the ability to pay attention to tasks, to complete tasks begun, to work autonomously, to change tasks without emotional consequences, to self-correct, to request help, and to plan a project.

5. Autism and motor and sensory skills

Motor and sensory skill development is the ability to know how to use adaptive tools and equipment to participate in activities and achieve independence, to learn how to communicate by use of a keyboard, and to use sensory information to gain information.

6. Autism and restricted range of interest skills

Restricted range of interest development is the inability to be flexible and tolerate changes to repetitive motor and behavior patterns, to changes in schedule and activities, and changes to the environment.

An IEP written for a student with autism will include one or more goals related to the aspects of autism discussed in this article. IEP goals will focus on increasing a student's ability to interact appropriately and effectively with their environment

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