Paraprofessionals are critical members of instructional teams for students with autism; however, little is known about their job preparation and professional development needs. This study addressed the gap in the literature by surveying 325 paraprofessionals in public school settings in the United States and Guam who reported working with students with autism. Data were gathered on paraprofessionals’ (a) roles and responsibilities, (b) applied knowledge from different types of professional development, (c) perceived barriers to professional development, and (d) types and timing of communication with their supervising teachers. The results of this study have direct implications for individuals interested in developing a model of professional development that will meet the unique needs of paraprofessionals who work with students with autism.

中文翻译：

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与自闭症学生一起工作时，辅助专业人员在角色、培训和沟通方面的经验调查

辅助专业人员是自闭症学生教学团队的重要成员；然而，人们对他们的工作准备和职业发展需求知之甚少。这项研究通过调查美国和关岛公立学校环境中报告与自闭症学生一起工作的 325 名辅助专业人员来解决文献中的空白。收集了关于辅助专业人员的（a）角色和责任，（b）来自不同类型的专业发展的应用知识，（c）感知到的专业发展障碍，以及（d）与其监督教师沟通的类型和时间的数据。这项研究的结果对有兴趣开发一种专业发展模型的个人具有直接影响，该模型将满足与自闭症学生一起工作的辅助专业人员的独特需求。