This single-subject study examined the effects of a planning and self-regulation strategy on the story writing ability of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Three children with ASD in second and fourth grades were taught a strategy for planning and drafting a story using the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD; Harris & Graham, 1996) approach. After the intervention, all students improved their story writing ability in terms of length, number of story elements, and holistic quality. Evidence of strategy use was also noted in stories written for a noninstructed personal narrative genre. Results suggest that the SRSD approach may be beneficial in improving the writing skills of second- and fourth-grade students with ASD.

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In this single-subject study, we examined the effects of a persuasive writing and self-regulation strategy on the writing of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Six children with ASD worked in pairs to learn a mnemonic-based strategy for planning and writing a persuasive essay using the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) approach. Postintervention analysis revealed increases for all students in number of essay elements and holistic quality. Evidence of planning and self-regulation behaviors was also noted. Results support the assertion that utilizing a peer component to teach strategy instruction coupled with self-regulation procedures can positively affect the writing of children with ASD.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may struggle to self-regulate their learning, and such difficulty may be especially notable in the area of written expression. One intervention that has explored self-regulation in writing is the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) approach. In this article, a review of the research using SRSD to teach children with ASD to write is conducted. Investigation yielded 11 studies including 27 participants with ASD. Results of the review indicated that students with ASD taught using an SRSD approach can improve their overall quality of writing, their discourse elements (e.g., persuasive or story) utilized, and the length of their products. Self-regulatory abilities, such as self-monitoring and planning, were also noted to improve. Suggestions for practice and future research are provided.

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