Enhancing the Reading Development of Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Foundational to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are difficulties developing joint attention, social reciprocity, and language/communication. These challenges place children with ASD at risk for future reading failure. Research suggests that many school-aged children with ASD will learn the decoding skills necessary to effectively read text, but will struggle with comprehension. Yet, the reading profiles of learners with ASD also show great heterogeneity, with some also unable to effectively decode new words. The range of challenges associated with ASD highlights the need for comprehensive literacy/reading instruction that addresses both code- and meaning-focused skills from the earliest grades. This article will provide an overview of effective interventions that support both the code- and meaning-focused skills of learners with ASD. Specific examples of effective instructional practices for learners with ASD will be shared.

Keywords

Autism - reading - comprehension - phonics - intervention

• References

• 1 National Early Literacy Panel (NELP). Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy; 2009
• 2 Rayner K, Foorman BR, Perfetti CA, Pesetsky D, Seidenberg MS. How psychological science informs the teaching of reading. Psychol Sci Public Interest 2001; 2 (02) 31-74
• 3 Snow CE. Reading for Understanding: Towards an R & D Program in Reading Comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation; 2002
• 4 Catts H, Kamhi AG, Adlof SM. Defining and classifying reading disabilities. In Kamhi AG, Catts HW. , eds. Language and Reading Disabilities. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2012: 45-76
• 5 Hogan TP, Bridges MS, Justice LM, Cain K. Increasing higher level language skills to improve reading comprehension. Focus Except Child 2011; 44: 1-20
• 6 Gough PB, Tunmer WE. Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial Spec Educ 1986; 7: 6-10
• 7 Kim YSG. Why the simple view of reading is not simplistic: unpacking component skills of reading using a direct and indirect effect model of reading (DIER). Sci Stud Read 2017; 21: 310-333
• 8 Brown HM, Oram-Cardy J, Johnson A. A meta-analysis of the reading comprehension skills of individuals on the autism spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord 2013; 43 (04) 932-955
• 9 Nation K, Clarke P, Wright B, Williams C. Patterns of reading ability in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2006; 36 (07) 911-919
• 10 Oakhill J, Cain K. Children with specific text comprehension problems. In Cain K, Compton DL, Parrila RK. , eds. Theories of Reading Development. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company; 2017: 359-378
• 11 Jones CRG, Happé F, Golden H. , et al. Reading and arithmetic in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: peaks and dips in attainment. Neuropsychology 2009; 23 (06) 718-728
• 12 McIntyre NS, Solari EJ, Gonzales JE. , et al. The scope and nature of reading comprehension impairments in school-aged children with higher-functioning autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47: 2838-2860
• 13 McIntyre NS, Solari EJ, Grimm RP. , et al. A comprehensive examination of reading heterogeneity in students with high functioning autism: distinct reading profiles and their relation to autism symptom severity. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47 (04) 1086-1101
• 14 Newman TM, Macomber D, Naples AJ, Babitz T, Volkmar F, Grigorenko EL. Hyperlexia in children with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2007; 37 (04) 760-774
• 15 Foorman BR, Connor CM. Primary Grade Reading. Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension. New York, NY: Routledge; 2011: 136-156
• 16 Kamhi AG, Catts HW. Language and reading: convergences and divergences. In Kamhi AG, Catts HW. , eds. Language and Reading Disabilities. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2012: 1-23
• 17 Roberts TA, Christo C, Shefelbine JA. Word Recognition. Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension. New York, NY: Routledge; 2011: 229-258
• 18 Ricketts J, Davies R, Masterson J, Stuart M, Duff FJ. Evidence for semantic involvement in regular and exception word reading in emergent readers of English. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 150: 330-345
• 19 Nation K, Castles A. Putting the learning into orthographic learning. In Cain K, Compton DL, Parrila RK. , eds. Theories of Reading Development. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company; 2017: 359-378
• 20 Gabig CS. Phonological awareness and word recognition in reading by children with autism. Comm Disord Q 2010; 31: 67-85
• 21 White S, Frith U, Milne E, Rosen S, Swettenham J, Ramus F. A double dissociation between sensorimotor impairments and reading disability: a comparison of autistic and dyslexic children. Cogn Neuropsychol 2006; 23 (05) 748-761
• 22 Dynia JM, Brock ME, Justice LA, Kaderavek JN. Predictors of decoding for children with autism spectrum disorders in comparison to their peers. Res Autism Spectr Disord 2017; 37: 41-48
• 23 Jacobs DW, Richdale AL. Predicting literacy in children with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Res Dev Disabil 2013; 34 (08) 2379-2390
• 24 Norbury C, Nation K. Understanding variability in reading comprehension in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: interactions with language status and decoding skill. Sci Stud Read 2011; 15: 191-210
• 25 Kim YSG, Wagner RK. Text (oral) reading fluency as a construct in reading development: an investigation of its mediating role for children from grades 1 to 4. Sci Stud Read 2015; 19 (03) 224-242
• 26 Lucas R, Norbury CF. Levels of text comprehension in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD): the influence of language phenotype. J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 44 (11) 2756-2768
• 27 Solari EJ, Grimm R, McIntyre NS, Swain-Lerro L, Zajic M, Mundy PC. The relation between text reading fluency and reading comprehension for students with autism spectrum disorders. Res Autism Spectr Disord 2017; 41: 8-19
• 28 Cain K, Barnes MA. Reading comprehension: what develops and when?. In Cain K, Compton DL, Parrila RK. , eds. Theories of Reading Development. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company; 2017: 257-282
• 29 Pearson PD, Cervetti GN. The roots of reading comprehension instruction. In Israel SE. , ed. Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Guilford Press; 2017: 12-56
• 30 McMaster KL, Espin CA. Reading Comprehension Instruction and Intervention: Promoting Inference Making. Theories of Reading Development. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company; 2017: 463-488
• 31 Tsatsanis KD, Powell K. Neuropsychological characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. In Volkmar FR, Rogers SJ, Dan R, Pelphrey KA. , eds. Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2014: 302-331
• 32 Catts HW. Early Identification of Reading Difficulties. Theories of Reading Development. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company; 2017: 311-332
• 33 Davidson MM, Ellis Weismer S. Characterization and prediction of early reading abilities in children on the autism spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 44 (04) 828-845
• 34 Dynia JM, Lawton K, Logan JAR, Justice LM. Comparing emergent-literacy skills and home-literacy environment of children with autism and their peers. Top Early Child Spec Educ 2014; 34: 142-143
• 35 Lanter E, Watson LR, Erickson KA, Freeman D. Emergent literacy in children with autism: an exploration of developmental and contextual dynamic processes. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2012; 43 (03) 308-324
• 36 Westerveld MF, Paynter J, Trembath D, Webster AA, Hodge AM, Roberts J. The emergent literacy skills of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47 (02) 424-438
• 37 Phillips BM, Menchetti JC, Lonigan CJ. Successful phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: lessons from the classroom. Top Early Child Spec Educ 2008; 28 (01) 3-17
• 38 Lonigan CJ, Burgess SR. Dimensionality of reading skills with elementary-school-age children. Sci Stud Read 2017; 21: 239-253
• 39 Catts HW, Nielsen DC, Bridges MS, Liu YS. Early identification of reading comprehension difficulties. J Learn Disabil 2016; 49 (05) 451-465
• 40 Lemons CJ, Otaiba SA, Conway SJ, Mellado De La Cruz V. Improving professional development to enhance reading outcomes for students in special education. I. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2016; 2016 (154) 87-104
• 41 Wei X, Christiano ER, Yu JW, Wagner M, Spiker D. Reading and math achievement profiles and longitudinal growth trajectories of children with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism 2015; 19 (02) 200-210
• 42 Sittner Bridges M, Catts HW. The use of a dynamic screening of phonological awareness to predict risk for reading disabilities in kindergarten children. J Learn Disabil 2011; 44 (04) 330-338
• 43 Bailey B, Arciuli J, Stancliffe RJ. Effects of ABRACADABRA literacy instruction on children with autism spectrum disorder. J Educ Psychol 2016; 109: 257-268
• 44 Bailey B, Arciuli J, Stancliffe RJ. Effects of ABRACADABRA instruction on spelling in children with autism spectrum disorder. Sci Stud Read 2017; 21: 146-164
• 45 Grindle CF, Hughes JC, Saville M, Huxley K, Hastings RP. Teaching early reading skills to children with autism using Mimiosprout early reading. Behav Interv 2013; 28: 203-224
• 46 Plavnick JB, Thompson JL, Englert CS, Mariage T, Johnson K. Mediating access to Headsprout early reading for children with autism spectrum disorders. J Behav Educ 2016; 25: 357-378
• 47 Kamps D, Heitzman-Powell L, Rosenberg N, Mason R, Schwartz I, Romine RS. Effects of Reading Mastery as a small group intervention for young children with ASD. J Dev Phys Disabil 2016; 28: 703-722
• 48 Tunmer WE, Nicholson T. The Development and Teaching of Word Recognition Skill. Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension. New York, NY: Routledge; 2011: 405-431
• 49 Al Otaiba S, Kosanovich ML, Torgesen JK. Assessment and instruction for phonemic awareness and word recognition skills. In Kamhi AG, Catts HW. , eds. Language and Reading Disabilities. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2012: 112-145
• 50 Travers JC, Higgins K, Pierce T, Boone R, Miller S, Tandy R. Emergent literacy skills of preschool children with autism: a comparison of teacher-led and computer-assisted instruction. Educ Train Autism Dev Disabil 2011; 46: 326-338
• 51 Ahlgrim-Delzell L, Browder D, Wood L. Effects of systematic instruction and an augmentative communication device on phonics skills acquisition for students with moderate intellectual disability who are nonverbal. Educ Train Autism Dev Disabil 2014; 49: 517-532
• 52 Benedek-Wood E, McNaughton D, Light J. Instruction in letter-sound correspondences for children with autism and limited speech. Top Early Child Spec Educ 2016; 36: 43-54
• 53 Coleman-Martin MB, Heller KW, Cihak DF, Irvine KL. Using computer-assisted instruction and the nonverbal reading approach to teach word identification. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2005; 20: 80-90
• 54 Leytham PA, Pierce T, Baker J, Miller S, Tandy D. Evaluation of the nonverbal reading approach for 12 to 13-year-old students with ASD. Res Autism Spectr Disord 2015; 9: 68-76
• 55 Barnes CS, Rehfeldt RA. Effects of fluency instruction on selection-based and topography-based comprehension measures. Res Autism Spectr Disord 2013; 7: 639-647
• 56 Kamps DM, Barbetta PM, Leonard BR, Delquadri J. Classwide peer tutoring: an integration strategy to improve reading skills and promote peer interactions among students with autism and general education peers. J Appl Behav Anal 1994; 27 (01) 49-61
• 57 Reisener CD, Lancaster AL. MuMullin WA, Ho T. A preliminary investigation of evidence-based interventions to increase oral reading fluency in children with autism. J Appl Sch Psychol 2014; 30: 50-67
• 58 Hudson R. Fluency problems: when, why, and how to intervene. In O'Connor RE, Vadasy PF. , eds. Handbook of Reading Interventions. New York, NY: Guilford Press; 2011: 169-197
• 59 Oakhill J, Cain K, Elbro C. Understanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension: A Handbook. New York, NY: Routledge; 2015
• 60 McKeown MG, Beck IL, Blake RGK. Rethinking reading comprehension instruction: a comparison of instruction for strategies and content approaches. Read Res Q 2009; 44: 218-253
• 61 Curenton SM, Justice LM, Zucker TA, McGinty AS. Language and literacy curriculum and instruction. In: Buyssee V, Peisner-Feinberg ES. , eds. Handbook of Response to Intervention in Early Childhood. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes; 2013: 237-250
• 62 Bellon ML, Ogletree BT, Harn WE. Repeated storybook reading as a language intervention for children with autism: a case study of the application of scaffolding. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2000; 15: 52-58
• 63 Fleury VP, Herriott Miramontez S, Hudson RF, Schwartz IS. Promoting active participation in book reading for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: a preliminary study. Child Lang Teach Ther 2014; 30: 273-288
• 64 Fleury VP, Schwartz IS. A modified dialogic reading intervention for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. Top Early Child Spec Educ 2017; 37: 16-38
• 65 Whalon K, Martinez JR, Shannon D, Butcher C, Hanline MF. The impact of reading to engage children with autism in language and learning (RECALL). Top Early Child Spec Educ 2015; 35: 102-115
• 66 Whalon K, Hanline MF, Davis J. Parent implementation of RECALL: a systematic case study. Educ Train Autism Dev Disabil 2016; 51: 211-220
• 67 Chiang H, Lin Y. Reading comprehension instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders: a review of the literature. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2007; 22: 259-267
• 68 El Zein F, Solis M, Vaughn S, McCulley L. Reading comprehension interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: a synthesis of research. J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 44 (06) 1303-1322
• 69 Finnegan E, Mazin AL. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension in students with autism spectrum disorder: a review of the literature. Educ Treat Child 2016; 39: 187-220
• 70 Randi J, Newman T, Grigorenko EL. Teaching children with autism to read for meaning: challenges and possibilities. J Autism Dev Disord 2010; 40 (07) 890-902
• 71 Senokossoff GW. Developing reading comprehension skills in high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder: a review of the research, 1990–2012. Read Writ Q 2016; 32: 223-246
• 72 Whalon KJ, Al Otaiba S, Delano ME. Evidence-based reading instruction for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2009; 24 (01) 3-16
• 73 O'Connor IM, Klein PD. Exploration of strategies for facilitating the reading comprehension of high-functioning students with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2004; 34 (02) 115-127
• 74 Solis M, El Zein F, Vaughn S, McCulley LV, Falcomata TS. Reading comprehension interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: an alternating treatments comparison. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2016; 31: 284-299
• 75 Flores MM, Ganz JB. Effectiveness of direct instruction for teaching statement inference, use of facts, and analogies to students with developmental disabilities and reading delays. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2007; 22: 244-251
• 76 Flores MM, Ganz JB. Effects of direct instruction on the reading comprehension of students with autism and developmental disabilities. Educ Train Dev Disabil 2009; 44: 39-53
• 77 Carnahan CR, Williamson PS. Does compare-contrast text structure help students with autism spectrum disorder comprehend text. Except Child 2013; 79: 347-363
• 78 El Zein F, Gevater C, Bryant B. , et al. A comparison between iPad-assisted and teacher-directed reading instruction for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). J Dev Phys Disabil 2016; 28: 195-215
• 79 Howorth S, Lopata C, Thomeer M, Rogers J. Effects of the TWA strategy on expository reading comprehension of students with autism. Br J Spec Educ 2016; 43: 39-59
• 80 Knight VF, Wood CL, Spooner F, Browder DM, O'Brien CP. An exploratory study using science eTexts with students with autism spectrum disorder. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2015; 32: 86-99
• 81 Reutebuch CK, El Zein F, Kim MK, Weinberg AN, Vaughn S. Investigating a reading comprehension intervention for high school students with autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study. Res Autism Spectr Disord 2015; 9: 96-111
• 82 Whalon K, Hanline MF. Effects of a reciprocal questioning intervention on the question generation and responding of children with autism spectrum disorder. Educ Train Dev Disabil 2008; 43: 367-387
• 83 Bethune KS, Wood CL. Effects of wh- question graphic organizers on reading comprehension skills of students with autism spectrum disorders. Educ Train Autism Dev Disabil 2013; 48: 236-244
• 84 Mims PJ, Hudson ME, Browder DM. Using read-alouds of grade-level biographies and systematic prompting to promote comprehension for students with moderate and severe developmental disabilities. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2012; 27: 67-80
• 85 Stringfield SG, Luscre D, Gast D. Effects of a story map on accelerated reader post-reading test scores in students with high- functioning autism. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl 2011; 26: 218-229
• 86 Williamson P, Carnahan CR, Birri N, Swoboda C. Improving comprehension of narrative using character event maps for high school students with autism spectrum disorder. J Spec Educ 2015; 49: 28-38