16% Of Children With Autism Are Expelled From Preschool Or Child-Care Setting Prior To Elementary School

About 16% of children ages 4 to 7 with autism in the U.S. had been expelled from a preschool or child-care setting prior to entering elementary school. The average age of expulsion was 3.3 years. The majority were expelled for behavioral issues. However, many of the expelled children had not been diagnosed with autism at that time or had not been identified as having special needs. In these cases, expulsion did not trigger any next steps such as referral for assessment. 

Young children with autism were more likely to be expelled from private programs than public programs . . .