A 2007 Utah Foundation report ranks special education teachers as the most likely of all subgroups of teachers to leave the profession. The report notes that special education teachers reported dissatisfaction with job responsibilities and changes in job responsibilities as main reasons for their departure.
With the rate of children being diagnosed with autism on the rise, it’s becoming crucial for those even outside of the special education field to have a background in the condition.
“I would say now, every teacher has at least one child with autism in the classroom,” said Nichole Wangsgard, an associate professor of teacher education and special education at UVU. “It’s not if, it’s when.”