© Kamla-Raj 2016 Int J Edu Sci, 15(1,2): 279-289 (2016) Opinions of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Towards Special Education Support and Services Basak Baglama and Mukaddes Sakalli Demirok Near East University, Ataturk Faculty of Education, Department of Special Education, Nicosia-North Cyprus, Mersin 10-Turkey KEYWORDS Early Identification. Family Guidance. Qualitative Research. Special Education Regulations. Special Needs ABSTRACT Providing necessary support and services to children with autism spectrum disorder is very important for their development. Recently, family involvement in special education services is being emphasized. Therefore, it is important to learn about the opinions of families of children with autism spectrum disorder towards special education support and services, and this study aims to investigate the opinions of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder towards special education support and services. This is a qualitative study, and a semi-structured interview method was used in order to collect the data. According to the results, mothers indicated that special education support and services are not sufficient for their children and families. The results were discussed in detail with reference to previous literature. Finally, implications and recommendations for further research were also provided in order to improve the quality of education policies, programs and practices for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. INTRODUCTION Anthropology has a crucial role in the de- sign and implementation of programs for pro- viding services for families. These services in- clude developing policies and strategies for bringing together governmental and private in- stitutions to make policies and services aimed at improving children and families’ wellbeing based on multidimensional, inclusive and evidence- based interventions (Vindrola-Padros et al. 2015). Raising a child with special needs brings many responsibilities to the family and therefore pro- viding beneficial interventions for these fami- lies becomes more important. Satisfying the health, education, transportation, guidance, so- cial and psychological support requirements of children with special needs and their families is a really important issue. Birkan (2002) stated that it is crucial for children with developmental dis- ability or children who are at risk to begin bene- fitting from special education services as early as possible for their development. Basic ap- proach for special education services in Turkey also emphasizes that early education must be- gin from the age of 0 (Vural and Yucesoy 2003). Special education services comprise all special education services provided for children with developmental disability or children who are at risk between the ages of 0 and 6 and their fami- lies (Gast et al. 1993). Children with disability need to benefit from early special education ser- vices appropriate for the beginning from the age of 0 in order to acquire independence in their daily lives and increase their capacity to the high- est level. In addition, early intervention is cru- cial for children with special needs in order to gain appropriate behaviors (Temiz and Akman 2015). In recent years, family involvement in the process of special education services is being emphasized and family is regarded as an impor- tant referral source in various stages of these services. In line with this situation, legal regula- tions in special education have become more important in the process of applying special ed- ucation programs and providing special educa- tion services. In the year of 1975, the “Education for All Handicapped Children Act” was entered into force as a legal regulation for the educational regulations for children with disability. Howev- er, support and services towards families were not included in this act. Services that will be provided for children between the ages of 3 and 5 were begun to be regulated under the name of the “Individualized Family Plan (IFP)” within this act in the year of 1986. The emphasis on family in this plan shows that family is at the center of special education support and services as well as children. The name of this act was changed to the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” in 1990. The final form of the IDEA was published in 2004 based on new regulations and principles on family involvement in special