Theses and Dissertations Collection

In 2018, data released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported onein 44 eight-year-old children in the United States were identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), making ASD the fastest growing developmental disability in the world (Maenner et al., 2021). Improving the educational experiences of students with ASD increased their positive life outcomes as adults. The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of therapeutic boarding school teachers' lived experiences, including challenges they faced in providing quality education to students with ASD. Additionally, the study sought to increase awareness of the support and resources which therapeutic boarding school teachers felt would improve the experiences of teaching students with ASD. Interviews with six teachers were conducted via Zoom and/or phone based on the preference of the participant. Each participant taught full-time at a therapeutic boarding school for at least one year with at least one student in their classroom diagnosed with ASD based on the DSM. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed to determine the essence of the experience. Five key themes repeated throughout the interviews: (1) unique challenges of working with students with ASD, (2) triggers vary, brains work differently, (3) supporting students is not a solitary experience, (4) not a one-size-fits-all experience, and (5) we can't do it alone. Study findings included implications for a variety of stakeholders. The findings in the study were consistent with previous research although teachers in this study reported support from therapists and treatment teams that did not exist in a traditional school setting. Additional quantitative and qualitative studies are needed to further identify the most effective training programs to support teachers working with students with ASD in therapeutic boarding schools. The current study provided an initial, limited perspective on the experiences of therapeutic boarding school teachers working with students with ASD. Given the opportunity to extend this research to a broader base of participants, more could be learned and understood about the experience of therapeutic boarding school teachers working with students with ASD.