Conclusion
One in every 68 children is currently diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (Frieden et al., 2014). While changes in teacher preparation programs are occurring, it appears they are not keeping up with demands of the students and families. Teacher-parent communication and collaboration offers important support for students with ASD. Teacher preparation programs and school administrators should incorporate course work and workshops to help teachers develop skills and strategies to communicate with, and involve parents in, their child’s education. These programs should also create opportunity for teachers’ development in understanding the needs and stress encountered by families of students on the autism spectrum. Recent studies in which pre-service teachers, teachers, and parents were surveyed and interviewed can be summarized into several recommendations for teacher preparation programs and school administrators. At the top of the list is having the opportunity to meet and interact with parents and family members of children with disabilities. To that point, some pre-service teachers suggested a course on parental involvement (Busby et al., 2012). Next, workshops on 1) strategies to increase communication and parental involvement, 2) family concepts including parent efficacy, 3) specific information on successful parental involvement programs, and 4) empirically validated and best practices for instruction including children with ASD were also suggested (Busby et al., 2012; Hoover-Dempsey Walker, Jones, & Reed, 2002; Unal & Unal, 2014). Additionally, teachers in training should have the opportunity to observe parental involvement in the classroom and schools, and witness effective teacher-parent communication (Unal & Unal, 2014). Taken together, these training and professional development strategies will provide a strong basis on which to build teacher-parent partnerships—and which will ultimately improve the education of students with ASD.