Instructional Practices in General Education Vocational Classes

General education vocational teachers were asked to report the extent to which the classroom instructional experiences of secondary students with autism are the same as or different from those of the class as a whole.¹³ Many students with autism in general education vocational classes experience the same instructional practices as the class as a whole (figure 6). Approximately three-fourths (73 percent) are exposed to the same curriculum and use the same instructional materials, such as textbooks, computers, and tools (74 percent), as their classmates. About two-thirds (68 percent) participate in the same class activities, such as hands-on work, projects, and field trips, and 62 percent receive their education in the same instructional groupings (i.e., whole-class, in small groups, with partners, or individually) as others in their general vocational education classes.

Instructional experiences for 16 percent to 29 percent of students with autism differ "somewhat" from those of the class as a whole. For 10 percent or fewer of students with autism, curriculum, instructional groupings, instructional materials, and class activities are "very different" from those of their classroom peers.

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