Characterizing the Special Education Goals of Autistic Students: Latent Class Analysis With Demographic and Developmental Covariates

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Zajic, M. C., Gudknecht, J., & McIntyre, N. S. (2025). Characterizing the Special Education Goals of Autistic Students: Latent Class Analysis With Demographic and Developmental Covariates. Exceptional Children, 91(4), 359-376. https://doi.org/10.1177/00144029251331861

Publication date: 15 May 2025 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Matthew C. Zajic
  2. Juliette Gudknecht *
  3. Nancy S. McIntyre

Abstract

Many autistic children receive special education services via Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that include specific educational goals and needs. Prior research has examined programming options available to support autistic students, but less is known about their educational needs across academic and developmental educational goals. Additionally, existing approaches have often relied on small studies focused on describing individual goal areas. This study uses data from 551 families from across the United States with an autistic child in grades K-12 and latent class analysis to (a) identify latent, or underlying, subgroups based off multivariate response patterns across educational goals endorsed in six domains (reading, writing, math, language and communication, social skills, behavior), and (b) examine if demographic and developmental covariates predict latent class membership. We identified five latent classes: All Goals (40.49%); Autistic Characteristics (21.63%); Language, Literacy, and Autistic Characteristics (18.99%); Academic (13.94%); and Language and Communication (4.95%). Two covariates—percentage of time spent in general education and adaptive behavior—predicted differences in latent class membership. Findings offer a comprehensive examination into the heterogeneous educational needs of autistic school-age children. Our results emphasize the need for researchers and educators to understand the educational needs of autistic students beyond the presence of an IEP.

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Cited references
45
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
1 / 45 (2.2%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
1 / 229 (0.4%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 1 / 33 (3.0%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 1 / 188 (0.5%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
33 / 229 (14.4%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 26 / 188 (13.8%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
32 / 33 (97.0%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 32 / 229 (14.0%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 25 / 26 (96.2%).
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