Investigating a reading comprehension intervention for high school students with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

A Comprehensive Examination of Reading Heterogeneity in Students with High Functioning Autism: Distinct Reading Profiles and Their Relation to Autism Symptom Severity

“…With a deeper, evidence-based understanding of the nature and variability of reading difficulties, or disturbances, in school-aged children with HFASD, beyond what is already known about reading comprehension disability, and including the development of word recognition, it may be possible to develop more targeted methods of instruction for this population (Reutebuch et al 2015). In this study, we extend the current knowledge about the reading development and disability in students with HFASD in three ways.…”

Enhancing the Reading Development of Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Prereading activities set the purpose for reading by accessing or building prior knowledge, making predictions, and/or reviewing key vocabulary. 74,[77][78][79][80][81][82] During reading, participants were encouraged to monitor their comprehension by identifying text they did not understand, 79,81 responding to text cues such as underlined signal words, 77 or responding to embedded true-or-false statements or main idea questions. 78,81 Another strategy used to monitor comprehension during reading involves teaching children with ASD to generate and respond to fact-based and/or fact-and inference-based questions about text through adult modeling and corrective feedback.…”

“…After reading, learners with ASD completed graphic organizers, 77,81 summarized important information from the reading, [79][80][81] or shared information about the reading. 82 Following participation in these multicomponent interventions, participants improved their responses to fact and/or inference comprehension questions about text, [77][78][79][80][81][82] ability to generate factbased or fact-and inference-based questions about text, 74,82 or retells. 79 Explicitly teaching text structure to learners with ASD (ages 8 to 17) can support comprehension.…”

“…77,86 Involving peers in comprehension activities is effective for students with ASD across a range of outcomes. 56,81,82 Using a partner reading format, 82 peer tutoring, or cooperative learning activities, 56,81 participants with ASD and their peers took turns reading passages and providing feedback on errors, 56 asking and responding to comprehension questions, 56,81 providing a summary of the reading, 81 and reviewing key vocabulary words. 56,81 Learners with ASD and their peers also worked together to preview the text, 81 monitor comprehension by responding to embedded true-or-false statements in text and identify unclear sections, 81 and complete an academic game that involved identifying characters and facts in a story.…”

“…56 Although findings were variable for some participants, others improved their ability to respond to fact-and inference-based questions about text. 56,81,82 In addition, participants increased their social interactions 56,81 and engagement. 56,81 To enhance participation and engagement or accuracy of correct responses, 68,79,85 meaning-focused studies have also incorporated token economies.…”