Autism reading comprehension programs

You can start encouraging inferencing during reading before your student knows even one letter. Any book with illustrations is going to provide information through pictures that your child will have to use inferencing skills to interpret. When looking at pictures, help your student go beyond the obvious.

If you come across a picture of a baby crying, ask the student what they see. Who, what, when, where , and why are great ways to start your inference questions when reading with your student. When reading a book together with a student, stop at brief intervals to ask inferencing questions like:. How do you think the main character is feeling right now? Why do you think the character just did that? Think of something specific and tell your student whether it is a person, place, or thing.

Encourage your student to ask meaningful questions rather than guessing something right off the bat. Switch roles. This game is kind of the opposite of 20 Questions. One person thinks of a word and gives a hint. Then everyone else gets to guess. If no one guesses after the first hint, then the person who thought of the word gives another clue, and the guesser tries again.

There are no correct letters. The N is correct and in the right place. The U is correct but in the wrong place. That is it. The word is dunks! This game is easier if you use pen and paper to keep a record. You can start with 3 letter words, then progress to more letters as the student feels comfortable.

You and your student can take turns thinking of the word, and this game can go on for a while. It requires the players to put together multiple pieces of information over a period of time, which is very similar to what happens when reading. Charades is a classic game, and is a great multisensory way to give students a chance to learn while moving. You can help your student with autism reading comprehension strategies and skills. In this webinar, one or our PRIDE Reading Specialists shares practical tips, examples, and advice for parents and teachers to help early and struggling readers develop their comprehension skills.

These are ideas you can start using with your student today. Reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading, so practicing these skills when you read to your student, when your student reads to you, and in everyday situations will pay off tremendously in your their critical thinking and reading abilities. Karina Richland, M. Karina has an extensive background in working with students of all ages and various learning modalities.

She has spent many years researching learning differences and differentiated teaching practices. You can reach her by email at info pridereadingprogram. Pin Introduce Sequencing Words When we read, most sequencing usually happens after we finish a text. Story Mapping A story map is the next natural step in retelling a story. Here are some ideas: Baking cookies, making a fruit salad, or doing anything that involves following a recipe Building a small Lego set using the pictorial instructions Performing a science experiment Downloading an educational app and following the instructions to create an account Playing tag, hide and seek, or any game your student really enjoys.

Among adults in the general population, population, ASD-like tendencies have been noted in mathematicians and scientists Baron-Cohen et al. Unfortunately, although teachers tend to ask many comprehension questions, reading comprehension instruction has traditionally been neglected in schools Durkin ; Pressley et al. At upper grade levels, the need for reading comprehension instruction may be masked by reading fluency Nation and measures of comprehension that focus only on factual recall Cain and Oakhill Reading comprehension instruction has received less emphasis in schools than phonics instruction, although decoding alone is not sufficient for reading.

Teaching children to read for meaning is no easy task as reading comprehension involves a complex set of skills and processes and is sensitive to individual differences, often requiring different kinds of instruction for different learners Duke and Pearson This is especially true for children with ASDs where individualized interventions may be necessary for behavior management as well as training in academic skills Koegel et al.

Fortunately, there is a growing body of literature guiding the teaching of reading comprehension. Given the wide variety of strengths and weaknesses exhibited by children on the spectrum, it seems reasonable that reading comprehension interventions targeted for typically developing children who struggle with the complexities of reading comprehension may also benefit children with ASDs.

For example, poor comprehenders are typically adept at phonological processing and word recognition, but are less skilled at attending to semantic representations Nation et al. Similarly, children with ASDs, especially those with hyperlexia, may focus on word recognition and neglect semantic processing. Cartwright described cognitive flexibility exercises, which classroom teachers, parents, and paraprofessionals could use to assist children in developing reading-specific cognitive flexibility.

The exercises consist of word sorts, in which readers are asked to sort a set of word cards, first based on phonological rules, such as initial consonant sounds, and then again, based on semantic categories, such as foods and non-foods. To assist teachers in choosing the types of reading comprehension interventions most likely to benefit children with ASDs, we describe the small number of reading comprehension interventions actually implemented with children on the spectrum.

With regard to instructional approaches, there is evidence that children with ASDs benefit from direct instruction Flores and Ganz ; Ganz and Flores , instruction in natural settings using authentic materials and rewards Koegel et al. Although there are numerous studies of interventions for children with ASDs, surprisingly few interventions for teaching reading comprehension have been described in the literature, and most of these focus on instructional approaches, rather than interventions that target particular reading comprehension difficulties.

For example, in a review of the literature on reading comprehension instruction for children with ASDs, researchers Chiang and Lin identified only 11 studies meeting these criteria: published in English in a peer-reviewed journal and using experimental design. Of the 11 studies, only four focused on text comprehension, with the other studies focusing on sight word comprehension.

Of the four text comprehension studies, three described instructional approaches i. One other recent review of the literature on evidence-based reading instruction for students with ASDs Whalon et al. The other studies reviewed focused on decoding or multiple components of reading. Instructional approaches that consist of reviews and rote activities focus on practicing skills, rather than teaching skills to scaffold the cognitive processes involved in reading for meaning.

Of the five meaning-focused intervention studies reviewed by Whalon et al. These two studies are important in that they describe interventions intended to scaffold the underlying cognitive processes involved in reading for meaning.

In a within subjects design, students read passages under four conditions: answering prereading questions, completing cloze sentences, identifying anaphoric references, and reading only.

These results are consistent with research that found students with ASD can benefit from prompting or calling their attention to relevant details Wang et al. For example, the reading comprehension of students with high-functioning autism appeared to be undermined by the prereading intervention, but improved somewhat by the cloze procedures.

The authors reported these individual difference results cautiously because of the small sample, but nonetheless, these findings suggest the need for future research on individual differences in autism interventions.

The second reading comprehension intervention study Whalon and Hanline investigated the effect of reciprocal questioning comprehension strategy among three students with ASDs and nine general education students in the early elementary grades. In cooperative pairs each student with ASDs paired randomly with one of three general education students , children were taught to generate and respond to questions, using a story map framework. The authors reported that all three children with ASD increased the frequency of unprompted question generating and responding from the baseline to the end of the intervention.

The authors noted that both participants with ASDs and their general education peers, however, required more prompting when generating and responding to inferential questions than when stating facts from the story. Notably, this intervention, as with other interventions for children with autism, relied on peer-tutoring or cooperative learning, affording children with ASDs the opportunity to develop their language skills in a social setting.

Among promising instructional approaches for teaching children with autism, direct instruction has been effective in teaching oral language skills Ganz and Flores In this study, three elementary school children were taught to identify materials out of which common objects were made.

Using common objects, such as a shirt, a paper napkin, or a leather shoe, the researchers provided direct instruction that included modeling of correct responses, signals to cue students, choral student responses, and correction procedures for incorrect and non-responses. The researchers began instruction using actual objects, then used representations pictures , and finally moved instruction to the abstract stage using words only.

The researchers concluded that students increased their expressive language skills, based on an increasing number of correct responses to probes posed throughout instruction. The researchers also reported that one student spontaneously used language skills at home and at school, asking others to identify objects made of different materials.

This study is significant in that it demonstrates that children with ASDs can be guided to more abstract uses of language through direct instruction. Deficits in oral language may contribute to reading comprehension difficulties Nation and Norbury Direct instruction is an approach that can address both reading comprehension and oral language skills Flores and Ganz Flores and Ganz investigated delays in the components of reading comprehension in individuals with ASD and other developmental delays and implemented an intervention that used direct instruction to address those components.

Four elementary students participated in the study, two of whom were diagnosed with an ASD. Consistent with the direct instruction approach, the researchers modeled the skills, guided the students to practice the skills, and then asked the students to perform the skills independently. The researchers reported that all four students reached criterion on all three aspects and maintained their performance after instruction ended, for at least 1 month. Although these researchers investigated only a small sample, the study suggests that students with autism might be led to identify causality through direct instruction.

The study is significant in that the intervention targeted specific reading comprehension skills thought to be especially challenging to individuals with autism. The studies of direct instruction DI interventions Flores and Ganz ; Ganz and Flores demonstrated how the DI approach can be used effectively to teach and scaffold the underlying cognitive processes associated with reading comprehension.

Likewise, collaborative learning and peer tutoring can be used to scaffold particular reading comprehension skills, as demonstrated by Whalon and Hanline , or can be used to practice and review reading materials. Collaborative learning and peer tutoring may assist children with ASDs to develop social and communication skills, but many children with ASDs prefer to work alone; they tend to avoid interactions with people.

Thus, one promising instructional tool is computer-based instruction, which can be tailored to individual needs. As one example, we review a computer-based vocabulary intervention. Vocabulary knowledge serves an important role in reading comprehension. Although children with autism have strengths in rote memory, they have difficulty in acquiring more abstract concepts, such as emotions Losh and Capps In one study, an intervention targeting vocabulary development was delivered through a computer-animated tutor to eight children with autism Bosseler and Massaro Results indicated that these children were able to apply their knowledge of target vocabulary in other contexts.

Interesting, the vocabulary included a range of concrete and abstract nouns as well as verbs and prepositions. Five lessons focused on adjectives describing emotions.

The lessons showed a person displaying each emotion and different faces were used to show the same emotion, requiring the children to recognize the same emotion on different faces. The same strategy was used to teach opposites, such as big and little. The children were shown different big and little objects, requiring generalization of the concept across objects. This study not only highlights the potential of computer-delivered instruction for children with autism, but also demonstrates that children with ASDs can be taught abstract concepts, including emotions, which contribute to reading for meaning.

Reading comprehension is an important skill for all children to acquire. Understanding language, whether in written or oral discourse, is essential for communicative interactions.

Although individuals with ASDs are typically delayed in language development, experience with written text may actually facilitate the acquisition of language skills.

Unlike in oral language contexts, where the recipient in this case, listener cannot return to the spoken medium to extract relevant details, the reader can return to the text and reread for meaning. But, given written text, individuals with ASDs can be prompted or reminded to read for meaning, to locate antecedent events that caused subsequent events, to generate questions and read to find the answers, reread to repair understanding, to locate referents, and so forth.

Although there have been relatively few studies evaluating interventions addressing the particular cognitive processes that make reading for meaning challenging for individuals with ASDs, the results of these few studies are promising. Children with ASDs, through instructional approaches such as DI, collaborative learning, and computer-assisted instruction, can be taught to engage the cognitive processes that undergird reading for meaning.

Individuals with ASDs might especially benefit from more research and development to design and evaluate interventions specifically addressing the processes and skills that contribute to reading for understanding.

Given the wide range of strengths and weaknesses exhibited among the individuals with ASD, it is reasonable to assume that parents and educators will look to researchers to provide a wide range of interventions to target individual needs.

Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to freely express their professional judgment. This article, therefore, does not necessarily represent the position or policies of the NIH and no official endorsement should be inferred. Elena L. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. J Autism Dev Disord. Author manuscript; available in PMC Jul 1. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Corresponding author. Copyright notice.

The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at J Autism Dev Disord. See other articles in PMC that cite the published article. Abstract The purpose of this literature review is to examine what makes reading for understanding especially challenging for children on the autism spectrum, most of whom are skilled at decoding and less skilled at comprehension.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders, Cognitive processes, Decoding skills, Reading comprehension, Reading comprehension interventions, Reading difficulties. Componential Nature of Reading Understanding the component skills and processes involved in reading for understanding, apart from decoding, has important implications for designing instruction in reading comprehension for all children as well as for designing interventions to strengthen reading comprehension skills in children with ASD and other developmental disorders.

Making Sense of Text: Cognitive Skills and Processes We turn now to a review of the cognitive skills and processes involved in making sense of text, and we consider which of these skills might be especially challenging for children with ASDs to acquire. What Makes Reading Comprehension Difficult?

The ASD Reader: Characteristics of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders As previously mentioned, children on the autism spectrum exhibit a range of strengths and weaknesses, suggesting that a single reading comprehension intervention may not be appropriate for all.

Cognitive Profiles of Individuals with ASDs Nonetheless, cognitive profiles of children with ASDs can provide insight into reading comprehension strengths and weaknesses. Reading Comprehension and Narrative Text Impairments in abstract reasoning may cause reading comprehension difficulties in expository or narrative text. Reading Comprehension Interventions Among educators and parents, there is a sense of urgency for locating effective instructional interventions for children with ASDs Eikeseth ; Hess et al.

Reading Comprehension Interventions Implemented with Children on the Spectrum To assist teachers in choosing the types of reading comprehension interventions most likely to benefit children with ASDs, we describe the small number of reading comprehension interventions actually implemented with children on the spectrum.

Teaching Vocabulary Vocabulary knowledge serves an important role in reading comprehension. Conclusion Reading comprehension is an important skill for all children to acquire. Some children take an extreme interest in certain subject areas so try providing them with material that satisfies their thirst for knowledge. Any practice with reading comprehension is helpful even if it means they read several books on the same topic.

Show them how to read on a computer or tablet. Show learners how to research online, read material from the web and access digital books.

Emphasize top-down strategies. Taking a global perspective in reading can be difficult, as can connecting a text to external ideas.

You can try making mind-maps or having a discussion about the topic before the reading begins. Highlight referents and annotate paragraphs. Teach children with autism to monitor their understanding as they read. Show them how to re-read for missing information. It may be helpful to highlight and underline text. Discuss figurative language. Making inferences is not always the easiest skill to master, which is why parents and teachers can help by explaining the meaning behind abstract language.

Promote sight reading. The more words a child recognizes, the easier it is to understand a sentence. New readers can reduce the amount of decoding needed by familiarizing themselves with sight words or high frequency terms that they are likely to encounter regularly. Read more about teaching sight words.

The Touch-type Read and Spell programme is a multi-sensory course that enhances literacy through the teaching of keyboarding skills. Learners hear a word spoken out loud, see it on the screen and then type the corresponding keys. Modules follow the phonics based Orton-Gillingham approach and students are repeatedly exposed to high frequency vocabulary in order to teach sight-reading. Learn more. TTRS may be particularly helpful for autistic children as it is delivered via a computer and students can take a self-directed approach to learning.

Log in using your email or User ID. Forgot your password? Our Online Products. ASD Reading is a patented, research-based method for teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD and other significant learning disabilities to read, write and comprehend at a 3rd grade level Lexile Learn more.

Story Smarts is an online introductory reading comprehension program that features 30 specially designed, appealing, stories and lessons. Spelling Ninja is an online spelling program that teaches students to rapidly develop the essential visual memory skills that lead to effortless spelling. Happy Customers. Arlene Maidman Parent.