The prevalence of autism is on the rise and this population of students is not academically thriving, thus leading to strained resources and more intervention services across the lifespan. The educational problem is that teachers report being ill-equipped to address the diverse academic needs of their students with autism. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to develop a deeper understanding of (a) how the perceptions and experiences of an educator could influence their pedagogy style when designing the learning environment, and (b) what could be the pedagogical implications when a developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), such as play, is or is not considered valuable for a student with autism. The participants are 10 early childhood special educators who engaged in two types of data collection, in the forms of an asynchronous survey and individual semi-structured interviews. Rich and descriptive data contributes to answering the research questions; seven themes were extrapolated using a thematic approach to analysis. Recommendations for future practice include (a) reframing autism as neurodiversity and not a medical disorder, (b) adding Play as a sixth developmental domain, (c) training teachers about the potential of play as a developmentally appropriate practice for neurodivergent learners, and (d) harnessing the power of all previously validated evaluation tools, plus the addition of the modified instrument used in the study, to focus on teaching specific developmental skills of play and language. Recommendations for future research could replicate this study with parent perceptions and experiences. Potential implications from this research could include a transformational pedagogy shift, which could lead to a growth mindset about their students' potentials, improved student outcomes, and narrowing of the current achievement gap in the population of ASC learners. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]