There is an absence of research into online friendships and video gaming activities of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this article we describe how friendships of students with ASD were developed in an online multiplayer context using the popular sandbox game, Minecraft. Multimodal analysis of the data demonstrated that online multiplayer gaming supported students’ use of speech to engage in conversations about their friendships, and to share gaming experiences with their offline and online friends. Online gaming enabled students to visually gather information about their friends’ online status and activities, and to engage in the creative and adventurous use of virtual images and material representations with friends. Despite the benefits for friendships, students with ASD experienced difficulties in friendships in multimodal ways. Notably, students engaged in verbal disagreements about video gaming discourses, sought out activities associated with the themes of death and damage using written text, and tended to dominate shared creations of virtual images and their representation. The findings have implications to better support the friendships of students through inclusive literacy practices online.

Currently, there is no consensus as how best to fund inclusive education for students with autism spectrum disorder. In this narrative review, we examined a range of funding models internationally in an attempt to identify the range of best practices for resourcing inclusive education. Three databases were searched along with various policy documents to identify the range of existing funding models. Three models of input, throughput, and output funding were identified from which 7 key considerations were extrapolated to provide what was expected to be relevant information to policymakers, researchers, and educators seeking to discover effective ways to fund inclusive education for students with autism spectrum disorder.

Extant research addressing implicit factors related to intervention decisions made by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited and findings have been inconsistent. In the present study, 74 parents of preschoolers with ASD were surveyed regarding intervention use. The possible relationships between implicit parent factors (education level, age, causal beliefs about ASD, complementary and alternative medicine [CAM] use, and family income) and child factors (time since diagnosis, and perceived severity of ASD), and the number and type of interventions used were examined. Consistent with previous research, only a small number of significant relationships were found, including that family income, parent use of CAM, mother’s education, parent belief in an unknown aetiology of ASD, and time since child’s diagnosis were all related to the number of interventions used. Some specific findings of previous research were not replicated in the present study (e.g., neither beliefs in environmental aetiology of ASD nor parent education levels were related to the use of specific CAM interventions), indicating that factors affecting decision-making may not be consistent across samples. Nevertheless, future research including an expanded range of possible implicit factors with more diverse samples may provide a more accurate predictive model of parent decision-making.

This study provides an in-depth examination of the understanding and implementation of cognitive–behavioural approaches (CBA) by Australian teachers of students with both autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Semistructured interviews were completed with 13 New South Wales teachers and several themes emerged. Interviewed teachers appeared to have limited knowledge about CBA; their description of the application of CBA and their reported practices included few features specific and unique to CBA. They primarily perceived CBA as a tool for behaviour management; addressing emotion was a theme but addressing cognition was not a salient feature of their practice. Most teachers seemed unaware of the potential of CBA in fostering generalisation or maintenance, and important student characteristics appeared to be seldom considered in teacher planning of their CBA programs. Directions for enhancing teacher knowledge and supporting their practice of CBA are suggested.

The ability to generate narratives is important for literacy development. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been found to generate less complex narratives than typically developing peers. This pilot AB study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a brief intervention procedure to develop the macrostructure of original fictional narratives based on a realistic scenario in one child, aged 9 years 8 months, with autism spectrum disorder and language disorder. The intervention targeted the characters, setting, problem, feelings, and fix of fictional narrative. Intervention involved the use of macrostructure icons, pictures to support the generation of narratives, clinician modelling, and the participant telling the entire narrative each session. The participant received 12 training sessions of 4–6 minutes each and the intervention was effective. Areas for future research include implementation of a stronger research design and investigation of generalisation to fantasy-based fictional narratives.

Special educator attrition is a major problem in the United States (US) and in many countries worldwide. In the present study, we investigated the experiences of 5 highly successful special education teachers serving students with autism spectrum disorder in the central Florida area of the US with particular attention to factors associated with teacher retention. A phenomenological research design was employed to identify factors leading participants to persevere where others have not. A representative sample was included of multiple teachers in classrooms of varying grade levels and school districts across central Florida as part of a funded project by the Office of Special Education Services and the U.S. Department of Education. Findings include that teachers of students with ASD who are involved in extracurricular activities may show a lowered burnout rate.

In this article, I address the problem that education support for students with communication impairment may be delivered in an inconsistent manner within schools, or school systems, exposing affected students to harm and affected schools to the risk of litigation. Analysis of relevant Australian disability discrimination legislation and related case law demonstrates that there is a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustment for students with communication impairment and that a fair and equitable system may be postulated to administer that obligation. The Australian Government has recently committed to a needs-based funding model for Australian schools but further work needs to be done to establish how resources that flow to schools under that model should best be applied. This article aims to provide some guidance to those who will make decisions within schools about the management of the sometimes scarce and often expensive support resources for students with communication impairment.

This paper reports the findings from a study investigating Bhutanese parents’ involvement in supporting their children with special educational needs (SEN) in schooling. The interaction between the parents themselves in supporting each other was also explored. Individual interviews were conducted with 26 parents (13 fathers and 13 mothers) of children with either full inclusion or partial inclusion in 3 schools located in 3 regions (urban, semi-urban, and rural) and analysed using manual thematic coding and Leximancer text mining software. Of Epstein’s (1987) 6 types of parental involvement activities in education, these parents reported their actions to be parenting, volunteering in schools, supporting learning and development at home, and collaborating with the community. The minimal interaction among the parents was mostly between the stay-in-school urban mothers who had consistent but impromptu and informal interactions. The implications of this study inform the need for schools to respond to policy and to actively engage parents, and for education programs and support groups to be set up to strengthen parental involvement in the education of children with SEN in Bhutan.