Autism and other thoughts By Barb

I'm not sure if Ohio is the same as Michigan, but in MI, you have to have a seperate endorsement to teach students with Autism. It must be a 2nd teaching endorsement too...like first your mental impairment endorsement, then you can get one for Autism. Just an FYI....

As far as mild/moderate...I don't think that limits you too much. That leaves it open for either of those levels and often will allow you to bridge to resource rooms. We still have many self-contained classrooms in our area at those levels...but it really all depends on how much the area/schools favor inclusion. If they look for a great deal of inclusion, then the mild/moderate range may not be self-contained but more resource while the kids are in gen. ed.

Also In MI, a mental impairment endorsement is fine for all levels of severity...mild/moderate/severe.

Hope this helped your thoughts...