The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Individuals with High Functioning Autism, Asperger Syndrome and/or hyperlexia may learn to read by sight or phonetically but often have difficulty comprehending and answering questions about what they read. Problems in understanding syntax and semantics, integrating information, referencing and accessing prior knowledge are common. Strategies for improving reading comprehension developed by the presenters, suggested from research and adapted from recommendations of the National Reading Panel will be discussed and illustrated. The learning objectives this presentation are that participants will be able to: 1) describe the learning style of individuals with ASD as it relates to reading comprehension; 2) identify common problems relating to reading comprehension; 3) apply strategies based on research, National Reading Panel recommendations and clinical experience to their work with individuals with ASD.

Researchers have long understood that individuals with ASD exhibit differences in language learning affecting both comprehension and expression. Recent neurological research has substantiated differences in brain organization both in children with autism as well as children with developmental language delay. While many individuals with high functioning autism, Asperger Syndrome and hyperlexia read fluently, comprehension is compromised both by language learning issues as well difficulties in social understanding.

In 1983, Snowling and Frith identified the following characteristic problems: 1) good word recognition/poor comprehension; 2) understanding of syntax and semantics limited or delayed; 3) difficulty in integrating information; 4) difficulty in referencing (attention/pronouns) 5) poor access of prior knowledge.

In our clinical experience, we have also identified difficulties in the following areas that affect reading comprehension: 1) phonetic decoding issues; 2) joint attention; 3) detail vs. main idea; 4) reading fluency; 5) prosody; 6) verbal to visualization; 7) fact vs. fiction; 8) schema formation; 9) interest and motivation. In addition, problems with social understanding and the development of a theory of mind affect the processes necessary to understand, relate to and make predictions about characters in fiction.

There are few studies that deal with the efficacy of strategies for developing reading comprehension specific to individuals with autism spectrum disorders. However, O'Connor and Klein in a study published in 2004 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders compared three forms of procedural facilitation for improving reading comprehension. Their findings relating to semantics and syntax will be discussed and practical applications will be suggested.

In a report published in 2004, the National Reading Panel (NRP) reviewed the research on strategies to improve reading comprehension in the general population. Some of the strategies with proven efficacy can be directly applicable for use with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. For example, it was found that vocabulary instruction (oral and print) was critical for improved comprehension. Vocabulary acquisition is often a strength in individuals with ASD.

Other areas critical for improving comprehension are more challenging for individuals with ASD. The NRP data suggest that text comprehension is enhanced when readers actively relate the ideas represented in print to their own knowledge and experiences and construct mental representations in memory. The panel identified comprehension instruction with proven efficacy for non-impaired readers: 1) comprehension monitoring; 2) cooperative learning; 3) graphic and semantic organizers (story maps); 4) question answering with immediate feedback; 5) question generation; 6) story structure; 7) summarization with integration and generalization. In order to accomplish this, a range of underlying skills need to be identified and directly taught to individuals with ASD.

Taking into consideration the learning style and difficulties characteristic in ASD, we have developed and field-tested practical strategies for developing some of the skills identified by the NRP as efficacious for improving reading comprehension. These include strategies relating to rote learning, understanding syntax and semantics, answering and asking questions, using highly motivating materials, developing joint attention, identifying the main idea and the details, developing schema, improving generalization and integration, dealing with factual material, improving social understanding of fictional characters and plots, and creating visual representations from text. Ideas for communication of learned material and skills that are needed for cooperative learning activities will also be discussed. Materials and examples of each of these strategies will be presented. These strategies can be used by parents, classroom teachers, special educators and speech and language pathologists and can be adapted for use with children at various reading levels.

Content Area: Education