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.

Symbolic play is considered an early indicator in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its assessment. The objective of this study was to analyze the difficulties in symbolic play experienced by children with ASD and to determine the existence of differences in symbolic play among children with ASD, children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and children with typical development. A scoping review was carried out in the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, ERIC, and PsycInfo databases, following the extension for scoping reviews of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The number of papers included in the review was 22. The results confirm that children with ASD have greater difficulties with symbolic play than children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and children with typical development, even when controlling for their verbal age. Difficulties are greater in situations of free or spontaneous play. Results evidenced that the absence or deficiency in the symbolic play can serve as an early indicator of ASD between the first and second year of life, the developmental moment in which this type of play begins.

YouTube is one of the most well-known and widely accessed websites worldwide, thus having a powerful pedagogical potential. Nonetheless, the quality and the veracity of some YouTube videos are questionable. Doubts regarding the trustworthiness of factual content is a controversial factor that needs to be taken into account, especially when addressing public health issues. For this reason, the main objective of this work is to analyze the content of the most viewed videos in Spanish on YouTube related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To carry out this research, the terms “autism AND education”, “autism AND intervention”, and “autism AND cure” were used (in Spanish). The analysis of these searches results indicated that videos included in the “cure” category are shorter, and less valued by internet users, obtaining the lowest ratings on the “Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool” for audiovisual materials (PEMAT-A/V), in addition to present therapies that are in fact more harmful than videos in other categories. In general, videos containing recommendations for therapies that are harmful are the ones that have received most views, along with the videos that include alternative non-harmful therapies. Practical implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have comorbid learning difficulties in reading comprehension, an essential skill in accessing any area of the curriculum. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the effectiveness of reading comprehension interventions in students with ASD. We conducted a search for scientific articles published from 2000 to 2019 using the keyword “autis*” in combination with the terms “reading comprehension” and “intervention” or “instruction” in Psyc Info and Scopus databases. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 25 studies were selected. The content analysis of these studies shows that when specific interventions are carried out, students with ASD are able to take advantage of the instruction they receive and compensate for difficulties. Understanding inferences and the main idea of the text are the most common reading comprehension topics, and direct instruction is the most widely-used intervention method in the reviewed studies. Nonetheless, it must be kept in mind that some of the reviews do not specify which sub-processes are addressed in the intervention. Future work should include this aspect, consider the importance of the interventions being implemented by teachers, and take specific aspects of ICT into account that can contribute to improving reading comprehension.

To make possible the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream settings, parental knowledge and attitudes towards the disorder play a key role between the home and the school setting. However, prior literature has not carried out an in-depth analysis of parents’ knowledge about ASD and their attitudes toward the inclusion of children with this diagnosis. This study examined the parental attitudes towards inclusion and knowledge about ASD. Participants were parents of children with ASD (n = 75), parents of children without ASD whose children had prior or current contact with peers with ASD (n = 44), and parents of children with no previous interactions with a peer with ASD (n = 51). The Attitudes of Regular Educators Towards Inclusion for Students with Autism Survey and the Autism Knowledge Questionnaire were filled out. Nonparametric statistical tests were used. Results showed that parents of children with ASD have better knowledge about this disorder and hold more favorable attitudes towards the inclusion of children with ASD than the other parents. These findings suggest that the benefits of inclusive schooling are limited to the school setting and do not appear to affect families of children without ASD.