Transactions, Transformation, and Transcendence: Multicultural Service-Learning Experience of Preservice Teachers.

Originally described by Leo Kanner (1943) and recognized as a special education eligibility category by the U.S. Department of Education in 1990 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], 1990), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in reciprocal social interactions, communication, and interests and behaviors (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000; World Health Organization, 1993). Even though individual prevalence rates vary by state (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2007a, 2007b), published prevalence rate estimates are approximately one out of 150 children (CDC, 2007b), making ASD the most common development disability diagnosed in children.