Neurodiversity Knowledge Among Secondary Educators: Findings From an Initial Participatory Survey Study

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O'Brien, K., Cai, C., Combs, A., Li, E., Lu, F., Tian, L., Zhang, S., & Blacher, J. (2026). Neurodiversity Knowledge Among Secondary Educators: Findings From an Initial Participatory Survey Study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-026-07290-8

Publication date: 10 Mar 2026 Added to AutiHub: 26 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)
  1. Katharine O'Brien *
  2. Cindy Cai
  3. Aaron Combs
  4. Eric Li
  1. Frederick Lu
  2. Leo Tian
  3. Summer Zhang
  4. Jan Blacher

Abstract

PURPOSE: This brief report examines high school teachers’ knowledge of neurodivergent student needs in cooperation with the students themselves, since autism is increasingly common in the classroom and centering the perspectives and insights of neurodivergent people is preferred. METHOD: Knowledge of research and best practices was measured using a 14-item survey developed through participatory action research with neurodivergent and allied students. RESULTS: Responses from 104 teachers in two Southern California districts revealed a significantly above-chance mean knowledge score (M = 45.02, p < .001). Teachers with neurodivergent family members scored higher than those without (M = 45.64, p < .05), while other demographic factors, including self-identification as neurodivergent, were not significant. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight the role of lived experience in shaping educator understanding and underscore the need for evidence-based professional development in neurodiversity-affirming practices.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 18:16.

Cited references
34
With a DOI
29
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
5
6 / 34 (17.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 34 (11.8%)
References with detected author names
31 / 34 (91.2%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
5
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
118
From DOI or external metadata
118
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
4
34 / 118 (28.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 84 / 118 (71.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
7 / 118 (5.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 7 / 34 (20.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 6 / 111 (5.4%).
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