Abstract
Support provided to families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by teachers in schools for special needs education was investigated using an instrument for rating family support provided by teachers. The instrument, which consisted of 25 support methods, was developed on the basis of interviews with 5 teachers. Participants, 132 teachers in schools for special needs education, were asked to rate each support method on the basis of its significance and the frequency with which it was employed. Factor analysis revealed 4 factors: “family acceptance”, “cooperation among supporters”, “proactive communication with family”, and “provision of information about children”. The results of an ANOVA indicated that cooperation among supporters was rated significantly lower than the other 3 factors with respect to both significance and frequency. The results also suggested that teachers in schools for special needs education take advantage of their expertise in supporting children by taking into account the characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder.
