GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM IN AN INCLUSIVE SETTING Dr. Beth N. Oluka Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki & T. A. Adaka Ph.D Federal University Lafia Abstract Researchers around the world have identified a significant increase in the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) over time within certain populations in many regions of the world, including Nigeria. The increased rate of students with ASD is well documented in the literature. There are numerous students within the ages of 13-18 with ASD in Nigeria, as a result, the general education teachers are required to improve their educational services to the students to enable them to progress academically. This study, therefore, examines the general education teachers' perceptions of students with autism in the Nigerian context. Wilkerson (2012)'s questionnaire on teachers' perception of the students with autism was adopted and adapted for data collection and was administered to 120 secondary education teachers (general education teachers) within Abakaliki metropolis. Collected data were analyzed descriptively. Results indicate that the teachers are receptive to students with autism but have poor perceptions of students with ASD, and therefore, require consistent training/ re-training to be able to cope with the students with ASD in their various classrooms. Implications for teacher certification programs and continued professional development initiatives are presented. Keywords: Autism, General Education Teachers, Teaching, Secondary Schools Education Introduction Globally, the prevalence of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased drastically in the last two decades. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2012), ASD is currently estimated at 1 in 80 children. Also, USDOE (2010) found that student with ASD in general education setting is more likely to drop out of the school due to teachers' and co-students' attitudes or perceptions about their challenges. However, to meet the demand for inclusive education in the Nigerian education system, additional information about how to address the unique instructional needs of students with ASD in inclusive settings is paramount (USDOE, 2010). The ASD is seen as a term that includes Rett disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD), autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger syndrome (Ben- Arieh& Miller, 2009; Sicile-Kira, 2004). The common characteristics of children on this spectrum are that they have 59