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Teaching for Autism

A program that focuses on the design of educational services for children or adults with autism, and that prepares individuals to teach such students. Includes instruction in identifying students with autism, developing individual education plans, teaching and supervising autistic students, counseling, and applicable laws and policies.

Types of Degrees Teaching for Autism Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Teaching for Autism can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	1
Bachelor’s Degree	32
Master’s Degree	968

What Teaching for Autism Majors Need to Know

Programs in Teaching for Autism develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Teaching for Autism graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Teaching for Autism emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Teaching for Autism program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Teaching for Autism careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Teaching for Autism graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.8 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	3.8 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Teaching for Autism professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Screen magnification software	Device drivers or system software	—
Screen reader software	Device drivers or system software	—
Voice activated software	Voice recognition software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Teaching for Autism graduates include:

• Lip Reading Teacher
• Braille Teacher
• Blind Teacher
• Sign Language Teacher
• Physically Impaired Teacher
• Learning Support Teacher
• Learning Disabled Teacher
• Special Needs Teacher
• Reading Specialist
• Learning Specialist
• Hearing Impaired Teacher
• Resource Specialist
• Teacher
• Visually Impaired Teacher
• Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher)

What Can You Do With a Teaching for Autism Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Teaching for Autism commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Education Teachers, Postsecondary	2.4%	$98,329	$80,157–$116,500

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Teaching for Autism graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	35.2%
Doctoral degree	27.7%
Master’s degree	21.9%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	13.0%
First professional degree	1.0%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.4%
Some college courses	0.2%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Teaching for Autism?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 91.6% of Teaching for Autism degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	918	91.6%
Men	84	8.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Teaching for Autism graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	687	68.6%
Asian	35	3.5%
Hispanic or Latino	135	13.5%
Black or African American	83	8.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	5	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.1%
Two or More Races	22	2.2%
Race Unknown	23	2.3%
International Students	11	1.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Teaching for Autism Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Teaching for Autism graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$54,981
4 years	$54,220
5 years	$59,983

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $59,983 — roughly 9% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Teaching for Autism Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Teaching for Autism. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	1	0
Master’s	9	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Teaching for Autism Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Teaching for Autism graduates earn a median of $54,220 four years after completion — roughly 43% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Special Education and Teaching	33,988
Special Education and Teaching, General	22,116
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs	3,548
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Elementary Special Education Programs	2,055
Art Teacher Education	1,860
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities	1,213
Special Education and Teaching, Other	1,070
Agricultural Teacher Education	1,051
Bilingual and Multilingual Education	932
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs	833
Biology Teacher Education	696
Education/Teaching of the Gifted and Talented	483

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.