Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that leads to critical
behavioral, communication, and social difficulties. U.S. legislation requires educators to
implement evidence based interventions (EBIs) when teaching children with disabilities.
Certain EBIs have been identified as the most effective early intervention techniques to use
when teaching social communication skills to preschool children with disabilities. In this
study, the social communication skill set needed by preschool children with ASD is
reviewed, along with a description of the key EBIs used to teach social communication skills
to preschoolers with ASD. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which the
teachers of preschool children with ASD were trained to implement current EBIs for
supporting the development of social communication skills in this population. The study also
examined the extent to which these teachers were implementing these EBIs, their perceptions
of their competence in implementing such interventions, and the barriers they encountered
along the way.
