Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03997-z ORIGINAL PAPER Special Education Service Use by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Christin A. McDonald 1,2  · James P. Donnelly 2  · Ashlee L. Feldman‑Alguire 2  · Jonathan D. Rodgers 2  · Christopher Lopata 2  · Marcus L. Thomeer 2 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract In the last decade, the prevalence of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID) in schools has increased. However, there is a paucity of information on special education placement, service use, and relation- ships between service use and demographic variables for children with ASD without ID. This study aimed to describe and explore variation in type and amount of special education services provided to (N = 89) children with ASD. Results indicated that the largest percentage of children received services under the Autism classifcation (56.2%) and were in partial-inclusion settings (40.4%). The main services received were speech (70.8%) and occupational (56.2%) therapies, while few children received behavior plans (15.7%) or social skills instruction (16.9%). Correlates with service use are described. Keywords Autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability · Special education · Service use · School · Correlates Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by symp- toms of social-interaction/-communication impairments and restricted and repetitive interests and behaviors [American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2013]. Prevalence estimates have documented an increase of 29% in children with ASD that occurred between 2008 and 2010, with the majority of this increase ascribed to the growing number of children with ASD without intellectual disability [ID; Center for Dis- ease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2014, 2016]. For exam- ple, the CDC (2016) documented that in 2012, 43.9% of students identifed with ASD had average or above average cognitive ability. Given their relative cognitive and language strengths, combined with their clinical symptoms, children with ASD without ID pose a signifcant challenge in the school setting (Koegel et al. 2012). Studies have indicated that children with ASD with higher IQs and lower levels of ASD symptoms are likely be placed in full-inclusion classrooms (Sansosti and Sansosti 2012; White et al. 2007). Many studies of the inclusion of students with ASD have reported a positive efect on these students’ level of social engagement (Sansosti and Sansosti 2012). For example, many demonstrate increased social interaction in the mainstream classroom (Dahle 2003), have larger networks of friends, or are included in peer activities at the same rate as their same-age peers without disabili- ties (Chamberlain et al. 2007). However, others argue that despite the recent trend toward full-inclusion of children with ASD without ID (Martins et al. 2014), an inclusive placement alone may be insufcient to improve the social skills of children with ASD without ID (Sansosti 2010). This is important to note, as data from the United States Depart- ment of Education (USDOE 2012) has indicated that the number of children with ASD served in public schools dou- bled between 2004 and 2010, and there was a 244% increase of these students in full-inclusion (e.g., placement in main- stream, general education setting for the entirety of their school day) classrooms from 1992 to 2006 (USDOE 2010). However, placement in a full-inclusion classroom may be counterproductive for children with ASD who are unable to beneft from or model the behavior of typically-develop- ing classmates (White et al. 2007). The social interaction * Christin A. McDonald Christin.Mcdonald-Fix@nationwidechildrens.org 1 Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 187 West Schrock Road, Columbus, OH 43205, USA 2 Institute for Autism Research, Canisius College, 2001 Main Street, Bufalo, NY 14208, USA