Simpson. R.L. (2005).  Finding effective intervention and personnel preparation practices for students with autism spectrum disorders.  Exceptional Children, 70, 135-144.

• Reflects on how he got into the field - remarkably similar to my story.  Huh.
• two places where he puts his energy:
  • identification and application of scientifically based treatments
  • preparation of well-trained autism educators
• many individuals are not equipped to deal with learners with ASD
  • ASD not a low incidence disability, and it is not new
  • demand for practitioners outweighs the supply
• autism is still a mysterious disorder
  • perceived as needing separate places and specialized interventions
  • "legacy of controversy (p.138)"
    • treatments
    • personnel preparation
  • even thought the technology has moved forward, we still don't agree on what is best, nor do we have enough trained interventionists
  • most treatments have not been evaluated enough - even things such as ABA are still open to debate
  • we tolerate a lot of unproven treatments
  • lots of due process and mediation
• no one single best intervention strategy
  • must be multidisciplinary and based upon individual need
  • three different ways to intervene
    • enhance skills
    • support the environment
    • biological/biomedical agents
• prognosis continues to be poor
  • we still need to create and validate new and promising intervention practices
  • must evaluate unproven strategies empirically
    • unvalidated strategies shift focus away from what seems to work
    • less time for validated strategies
• personnel preparation and ASD
  • shortages in qualified personnel will continue for the forseeable future
  • need
    • foundations and general and SPED
    • characteristics of learners with ASD
    • assessment, Dx, and evaluation
    • how to teach
      • social interaction
      • communication
      • independence
      • sensory
      • environmental accommodations
      • PBS
    • must be taught, modeled and practiced
  • very few preservice programs for training teachers to work with kids with ASD
    • there are more kids than there are professionals
    • most are trained as generalists, noncategorically
      • that won't change
      • we should expect well trained special educators, though
    • need to also reach general educators as well
• what I found over the years...
  • need for the identification and faithful application of methods that are effective
  • team-based approach to education
    • promising interventions should be "prudently" woven into established interventions
    • must have skill in the evaluation of these interventions
• bibliography in the back of the article that addresses these areas:
  • effective practices
  • personnel preparation
  • parent and family support
  • traits and features of learners with ASD