OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of severity of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) on caregiver burden and satisfaction with school district services.   METHODS: Survey data was collected from 301 primary caregivers of children with ASD. Caregiver burden was measured using the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) and ASD severity in children was measured using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Parent version (CARS-P) for functional impairments and Developmental Behavior Checklist- Parent version (DBC-P24) for behavior problems. Children with ASD were classified into high and low severity subgroups based on the scores received on CARS-P and DBC-P24, respectively. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess differences in caregiver burden scores and satisfaction with seven types of school district services between high and low severity subgroups. One-way ANCOVA was performed to determine the mediating effect of caregiver burden between ASD severity and satisfaction with school district services. RESULTS: An overall significant effect on caregiver burden scores was observed for both behavior problems (F (1,299) =55.4, p≤0.001) and functional impairments (F (1,299) = 42.5, p≤0.001) sub-groups. Higher scores were reported for the high behavior problems (Mean=8.3, S.E=0.13) and the high functional impairments groups (Mean= 8.4, S.E=0.15). Satisfaction with all school district services except for occupational therapy differed significantly between the severity sub-groups. Caregivers of children with ASD in high behavior problems and high functional impairments groups reported lower satisfaction with services.  The ANCOVA, however, showed no significant differences in service satisfaction between the severity sub-groups suggesting a mediating role of caregiver burden.    CONCLUSIONS: Severity of a child’s ASD as defined by a combination of the extent of functional impairments and behavior problems was found to be associated with higher caregiver burden and greater dissatisfaction with services. Clinical diagnosis of ASD severity alone may not predict the extent of unmet school service needs.