Mrs. Bonds was the district autism spe- cialist. She, along with teachers, thera- pists, and paraprofessionals, supported students with autism spectrum disor- ders (ASD) in preschool through 12th grade, across general and special educa- tion settings. Though the skills of the students she served varied tremen- dously, she noticed a common difficulty for many of her students with ASD, despite age or functioning level: a broad deficit in independent function- ing. This impacted her youngest stu- dents as they learned basic school readiness skills, including gathering and putting away materials, or com- pleting a basic sequence of activities, such as coloring, cutting, and gluing. This same difficulty made it hard for her older students to follow more com- plex response chains and manage all of their belongings, materials, and assign- ments throughout the day. Mrs. Bonds needed an intervention that could address this difficulty, one that would be appropriate for a variety of students in a number of settings. After careful review of evidence-based practices and discussion with colleagues, she decided to implement work systems, an ele- ment of structured teaching developed by Division TEACCH, with several of her students. An important goal for all students is the ability to function independently throughout the school day—moving from one location to the next, organiz- ing required materials, completing nec- essary tasks, and applying skills learned in one setting to other settings when appropriate. Although this goal is a priority for all students, it is even more important for students with ASD, as independence is the key to success- ful community inclusion and future employment. In a study of 68 adults with autism with IQs measured above 50, two thirds were not employed and only 3 lived independently, likely due to the well-documented difficulties in independent performance (Howlin, Goode, Hutton, & Rutter, 2004). This difficulty in independent performance has been recognized as a programming priority by many in the field (Lord & McGee, 2001; Olley, 1999). Lord and McGee identified “independent organi- zational skills . . . such as completing a task independently” as one of eight recommended educational objectives for students with autism (p. 218). Olley noted that “the goals of all curricula and methods are to assist students to work independently” (p. 602). The development of independent skills is an essential curricular goal for students with ASD; it is also essential that staff like Mrs. Bonds who support students with ASD understand the complex skills required for independ- ent performance. In addition, it is helpful to understand what challenges students with ASD may face when 6COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 6-14. Copyright 2009 CEC. Using Structured Work Systems to Promote Independence and Engagement for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Christi R. Carnahan  Kara Hume  Laura Clarke  Christy Borders Autism Spectrum Disorders