Children with neurodevelopmental disorders often show impairments in sensory processing (SP) and higher functions. The main objective of this study was to compare SP, praxis and social participation (SOC) in four groups of children: ASD Group (n = 21), ADHD Group (n = 21), ASD+ADHD Group (n = 21), and Comparison Group (n = 27). Participants were the parents and teachers of these children who were 5–8 years old (M = 6.32). They completed the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) to evaluate the sensory profile, praxis and SOC of the children in both the home and classroom contexts. In the home context, the most affected was the ASD+ADHD group. The ADHD group obtained higher scores than the ASD group on the Body Awareness (BOD) subscale, indicating a higher level of dysfunction. The ASD group, however, did not obtain higher scores than the ADHD group on any subscale. In the classroom context, the most affected were the two ASD groups: the ASD+ADHD group obtained higher scores than the ADHD group on the Hearing (HEA) and Social Participation (SOC) subscales, and the ASD group obtained higher scores than the ADHD group on the SOC subscale. Regarding sensory modalities, difficulties in proprioception seem to be more characteristic to the ADHD condition. As for higher-level functioning, social difficulties seem to be more characteristic to the ASD condition. Differences between the two contexts were only found in the ASD group, which could be related to contextual hyperselectivity, an inherent autistic feature. Despite possible individual differences, specific intervention programs should be developed to improve the sensory challenges faced by children with different diagnoses.

The increasing number of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream education environments require teachers to know how to identify their needs, being capable to adapt their education processes and make their inclusion easier. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review about teachers’ knowledge of ASD, including teachers from any stage and specialization. The research has been conducted from four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo and Google Scholar) during the period of 2015–2020. In total, 25 articles were analyzed. The results show that, in general, teachers’ knowledge of ASD is poor. It depends on the education stage (being higher in early childhood teachers and in university professors), prior training and possible prior contact with students with ASD.

(1) Teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools influence daily educational practices. Depending on whether these attitudes are favorable or not, inclusive education could be fully or partially reached. This systematic review aims to analyze teachers’ attitudes toward ASD and to determine the variables that moderate them. (2) We conducted a systematic review in WoS, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases, obtaining an amount of 16 studies included in this review. (3) The results revealed inconclusive levels in teachers’ attitudes: Some of the teachers reported positive attitudes, some neutral, and some negative. (4) Among the variables that probably moderate attitudes, we found knowledge, experience, training, and gender. Future research and implications for pre-service and in-service teachers, school administrators, and policy makers are suggested.

The inclusive education framework and the increase in autism diagnoses have led to an overwhelming challenge for pre-service teachers who need to be qualified to teach all children. To test the quality of their training, the main purpose of this study was to compare 866 pre-service teachers’ knowledge, misconceptions, and gaps about autism in their first and final year at university, using the Autism Knowledge Questionnaire. The results show that fourth-year students obtained higher levels of knowledge and fewer gaps than the first-year students, although they also had more misconceptions. Special education specialists obtained significantly more knowledge and fewer misconceptions than the general education pre-service teachers. Specific training and experience had a significant influence on the knowledge and gaps, but it had no influence on the number of misconceptions. These results suggest that university preparation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might not adequately train all future teachers.