IEP Process as an Avenue or Barrier to Inclusion for Autism Spectrum Students: The Importance of Collaboration

Decades of research concerning the implementation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) have shown that building and implementing an IEP for a student with additional needs can be adversarial between the child’s parents and the school system. In 1975, when Public Law 94-142 was passed, the idea behind the law was not only to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for children with needs and disabilities but also to give parents of these children a voice in the process of creating the child’s IEP. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was not added to the list of needs to be served by school districts until the update of PL 94-142 in 1990 and implementation of Public Law 101-476. The autism spectrum is often called a hidden disability and simply because a child is diagnosed and identified, this is not a guarantee the child will receive support or services. This article examines how the lack of collaboration and conflict management not only challenges FAPE for students on the autism spectrum, but the lack of collaboration is a barrier to best practices when considering inclusion and least restrictive environment (LRE) for students on the autism spectrum. Contributors to either collaboration or conflict will be viewed through the lens of disability models and self-determination theory (SDT).