Sinhgad e Journal of Nursing, Vol. III, Issue II, December 2013. 5 ©2013. Sinhgad College of Nursing, Pune. All rights reserved. Knowledge of Autism Among Pre School Teachers Mrs. Sheela Upendra Associate Professor Symbiosis College of Nursing Symbiosis International University, Pune. sheelaupendra@rediff.com Abstract The present study aimed to assess the Knowledge of Autism among Pre –School teachers Objectives: a. To describe the socio-demographic characteristics of pre -school teachers. b. To assess the knowledge of Autism among preschool teachers. The researcher adopted Non Experimental descriptive method for the study .Sample comprised of 30 Pre School teachers. Setting for the study was Selected Pre schools of Pune city. Sampling technique used for the study was random sampling technique. After obtaining permission from the concerned authority and informed consent from the samples, the investigator administered the tool. The tool was divided into two sections: Section I: Demographic proforma of the sample Section II: Self administered structured Knowledge questionnaire on Autism. Data collected were analyzed and interpreted in terms of objectives of the study by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Major findings: On the basis of frequency and percentage wise distribution of knowledge about Autism in Pre School teachers, it was found that the majority (96.7%) of pre school teachers had poor knowledge and only (3.3 %) preschool teachers had average knowledge. Based on these findings recommendations were given for future research. Key words: Knowledge, Pre School teacher, Autism Introduction Karande 2006, Meyer et.al; 2007, Paterson et.al; 2007 & Medelsohn & Schaefer 2008 Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by restricted, repetitive, stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activity. Autism is a polygenetic disorder with a heritability index of 0.90. Cowley 2000 and Committee on children with disabilities 2001 ‘Due to increased public awareness about Autism, availability of more educational and medical resources, propaganda in media coverage about the families and affected individuals, availability of training and educational information for physicians, psychologist, health team members, the prevalence rate has increased .’ Gallese 2007 and Zalla et.al, 2011 Autistic individuals are relatively unable to understand the intention of other person’s action. Siegel 2004 & Stone et.al; 2004 Modified checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) is a screening tool for use in children aged 24 months. Twenty three items all based on parental report. Specificity 87% and sensitivity 99%. Efficient for use in a primary care setting.