Autistic People and Academics as Experts in ECHO for Education

Although evidence-based practices to support the behavioral needs of students with autism exist, educators lack the knowledge of these practices to implement them effectively. Additionally, many of these practices are not viewed as socially valid by some in the autistic community. Therefore, there is a need for experts and autistic people to collaborate to meet the professional development needs of teachers related to supporting the behaviors of students with autism. In this paper, we describe how the ECHO® Model can help meet this need by combining the expertise of specialists and people with lived experiences with commonly available technology resources.