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Characterizing the Special Education Goals of Autistic Students: Latent Class Analysis with Demographic and Developmental Covariates

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  • Author(s): Matthew C. Zajic (ORCID Matthew C. Zajic (ORCID 0000-0002-9806-4832); Juliette Gudknecht (ORCID Juliette Gudknecht (ORCID 0000-0002-0352-1907); Nancy S. McIntyre (ORCID Nancy S. McIntyre (ORCID 0000-0001-5085-2672)
  • Language:
    English
  • Source:
    Exceptional Children. 2025 91(4):359-376.
  • Publication Date:
    2025
  • Document Type:
    Journal Articles
    Reports - Research
  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      18
    • Sponsoring Agency:
      Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
    • Contract Number:
      R305B220021
    • Education Level:
      Elementary Secondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Autism Spectrum Disorders; Students with Disabilities; Special Education; Educational Objectives; Student Needs; Elementary Secondary Education; Student Characteristics; Individualized Education Programs; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Language Skills; Literacy; Communication Skills; Academic Achievement
    • Subject Terms:
      Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales; Social Responsiveness Scale
    • Accession Number:
      10.1177/00144029251331861
    • ISSN:
      0014-4029
      2163-5560
    • Abstract:
      Many autistic children receive special education services via Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that include specific educational goals and needs. Prior research has examined programming options available to support autistic students, but less is known about their educational needs across academic and developmental educational goals. Additionally, existing approaches have often relied on small studies focused on describing individual goal areas. This study uses data from 551 families from across the United States with an autistic child in grades K-12 and latent class analysis to (a) identify latent, or underlying, subgroups based off multivariate response patterns across educational goals endorsed in six domains (reading, writing, math, language and communication, social skills, behavior), and (b) examine if demographic and developmental covariates predict latent class membership. We identified five latent classes: "All Goals" (40.49%); "Autistic Characteristics" (21.63%); "Language, Literacy, and Autistic Characteristics" (18.99%); "Academic" (13.94%); and "Language and Communication" (4.95%). Two covariates--percentage of time spent in general education and adaptive behavior--predicted differences in latent class membership. Findings offer a comprehensive examination into the heterogeneous educational needs of autistic school-age children. Our results emphasize the need for researchers and educators to understand the educational needs of autistic students beyond the presence of an IEP.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • IES Funded:
      Yes
    • Publication Date:
      2025
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1475373