A Study of Students on the Autism Spectrum Transformation in a High School Transition Program - An Educational Leadership and Administration Research Study

Oct 15, 2026

A research study examines how transformative education practices affect learning and performance outcomes for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a high school transition setting. It integrates traditional informative education, radical transformative education, and sustainable reform, analyzing learning disability and constructivist learning to interpret socio-complex educational leadership for social justice. The work situates students within the Asperger Inclusion Program and an extracurricular Ethos program, while contextualizing ASD definitions, IDEA protections, and education-system responses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Statement of the Problem

Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development

Volume and publication information

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): definitions and challenges

Policy and educational provisions (IDEA)

A Study of Students on the Autism Spectrum Transformation in a High School Transition Program Courteny Moore-Gumora California State University, East Bay This study brings together the theoretical and empirical practices of traditional informative education, radical transformative education, and sustainable education reform. An analysis of learning disability and constructivist learning are used to elucidate the socio-complexity of historic academic constructs concerning educational leadership for social justice. This study is the beginning of a larger future exploration of alternative academic practices as transformative learning in radical school reform. The study considers how transformative education practices produce radical increase in performance outcomes for participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder; this effective impact with severely diagnosed atypical learning population challenge conventional disabled learning theory practices. The ontological student perspective deliberates where in the realm of education does the atypical learner particularly with ASD (specifically with Asperger Syndrome) exist? The students are diagnosed with High Functioning Autism and participate in an urban high school transition program called the Asperger Inclusion Program (AsIP) and an extra-curricular program called Ethos. The study provides access to student experiences that drive discussion to ponder equity and power in pedagogy and society by removing historically tendentious curricular constraints. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) face significant challenges in socialization, communication, and flexible behavior and thinking that impact their school experience. For purposes of this study, ASD refers to a broad definition of autism that manifest in severe, moderate, and mild forms as proposed for the edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) published in May 2013 (American Psychiatric Association 2012) . As is relevant to this study, High Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger Syndrome (AS) are commonly used to refer to individuals with mild forms of ASD. A neurologicalbased developmental disability, the autism spectrum is characterized by qualitative impairments in reciprocal interaction, and verbal and/or non-verbal communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive, or stereotyped patterns of activities and interests. These core challenges manifest differently for each individual while changing across the lifespan (Attwood, 2008) . Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development Volume 25, March 2014 ISSN 1532-0723 © 2014 California Association of Professors of Educational Administration Once rare, ASD has reached epidemic proportions with estimates as high as 1 in 50 school aged children identified in the United States (Blumberg et al., 2013) . Already a heavy burden on educational facilities, autism has had a large impact on public schooling, and the number of students coming of age who have autism has had an enormous effect on the economy as the affected children reach adulthood (Matson & Kozlowski, 2012) . Data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network support the inference that there has been an increase in ASD recognition by community providers. While all children defined as ASD cases in ADDM have previously come to the attention of a special education or health care provider in their communities, not all of these children had a previous diagnosis or school classification specific to ASD. Each surveillance year, a percentage of children who had clear documentation of autism traits in their records, but not a specific ASD diagnosis or educational placement, are nonetheless classified as ASD cases by ADDM clinical reviewers (National Health Statistics Reports Number 65 March 20, 2013) . Originating as the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education A

FAQs

What is the study’s main focus regarding students with ASD in a high school transition program?

The study focuses on how transformative education practices influence performance outcomes for participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder during a high school transition program.

Which programs are students in the study said to participate in?

Students participate in an urban high school transition program called the Asperger Inclusion Program (AsIP) and an extra-curricular program called Ethos.

How does the document frame ASD and related terms such as HFA and Asperger Syndrome?

It describes ASD as a broad spectrum with impairments in reciprocal interaction and communication, noting that High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome are commonly used for milder forms.

Oct 15, 2026

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