Developing Legally Correct and Educationally Appropriate Programs for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in litigation regarding the education of students With autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Because of the complexity of ASD and the costs of litigation related to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, ASD has become a high-stakes issue for parents and school districts. The purpose of this article is to extrapolate principles from the ASD litigation to provide guidelines to assist Individualized Education Program teams in developing appropriate special education programs for students With ASD.