READING COMPREHENSION AND AUTISM:

SELECTED TOPICS

Erin Lash, MS CCC-SLP

Patricia McCoy, MA, CCC-SLP

West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall

University

Today we will…

Define reading comprehension

Understand how features of autism affect

comprehension

Learn about intervention ideas and techniques

tailored to the needs of learners with Autism

Spectrum Disorders

Explore resources that address specific learning

strategies

Reading is…

“A form of dynamic thinking [that] includes

interpreting information through the filter of one’s own

knowledge and beliefs,

using the author’s organizational plan to think about

information (or imposing one’s own organization on

ideas),

inferring what the author does not tell explicitly,

as well as many other cognitive actions.”

National Reading Panel (2005), p.28

Reading Instruction

Includes 5 basic skills:

Phonemic awareness

Phonics

Fluency

Vocabulary

Text Comprehension

Notes

The Benefits of Literacy Skills

Literacy Skills are critically important:

They allow for fuller participation in

education

Enhance employment opportunities

Facilitate the use of technologies

Support personal expression and social

relationships (texting, social networking, etc)

Allow access to enjoyable leisure pursuits

(reading for enjoyment, surfing the internet,

etc)

Can increase functional communication

skills.

Increase socials skills by providing mutual

interests to discuss.

DSM IV Criteria for Autism

(a) Delay in, or total lack of, the development of

spoken language (b) marked impairment in the ability to initiate or

sustain a conversation with others

(c) Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or

idiosyncratic language

(d) Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play

or social imitative play appropriate to

developmental level

Notes

Learning Characteristics

of Autism

Visual vs. auditory learner.

Expressive and Receptive Communication

problems.

Difficulty predicting the order of events.

Difficulty with organizational skills.

Difficulty reading social information.

Fine and gross motor skill difficulties.

Concrete vs. abstract learner.

The Reader on the Spectrum

Research suggests that children on the spectrum have a

wide range of reading accuracy skills.

o Many are hyperlexic

o Hyperlexics do not struggle with word

reading but with word meaning and

comprehension

Weaknesses tend to be in the areas of reading

comprehension and vocabulary.

Those are the areas we will concentrate on today.

Challenges in teaching literacy skills

May have limited access to speech or language

o Spoken language is the foundation of

written language

o Limited vocabulary and syntax skills

Limited world knowledge

Limited means to express themselves

Limited opportunities for literacy learning

o Often have reduced expectations

Notes

The Benefits

Literacy skills are even more important for individuals

with autism who have limited speech

To expand communicative options

To increase perceptions of competence

To increase self-esteem

Provide visual supports to enhance language

learning and facilitate speech production

To be an effective comprehender, the reader must

track through sentence from left to right

decode or recognize by sight each word in

sequence

access meaning of words

process all words in sequence to derive

meaning of sentence

relate meaning to prior knowledge to

comprehend text

What good comprehenders do:

Know why they are reading

Understand the point

Relate to prior knowledge

Relate to other text

See cause and effect

Interpret characters’ actions and emotions

Understand the author’s intentions

Predict

Infer

Summarize

Mark, highlight

In Summary: readers must understand vocabulary, style,

structure, characters, and much more….

(Drawing a Blank, Emily Iland)

Notes

Readers who struggle

May have difficulty understanding vocabulary, style,

structure, and characters.

They may have difficulty understanding deception,

metaphors, sarcasm, irony, and using imagination.

They may fragment information and focus on details,

rather than understanding the “big picture”.

Have difficulty adapting to new situations or changes

in text with flexibility.

May have difficulty responding to what they have

read.

May have difficulty thinking about how they read.

Have difficulty connecting personal experiences with

what they have read.

Have a wide range of reading accuracy skills while

reading comprehension is generally impaired.

In essence: Have difficulty with the essential

components of good reading comprehension, which

includes:

using their experiences and knowledge of the

world, knowledge of vocabulary and language

structure

Using their knowledge of reading strategies

Make sense of text

Know when they have problems understanding

and how to resolve those problems as they

occur. (National Institute for Literacy: 2012)

Deficits in reading comprehension for readers with

autism can be masked by:

Good decoding and fluency

Understanding of concrete facts

Good memory

Notes

Being re-taught at home

Research shows that around age 10, learners with autism

who are poor readers lose interest because of weak

comprehension skills.

A Closer look at the reader on the spectrum: some

specific challenges

Restricted Interest Areas

Readers with autism may have restricted or limited

areas of interest.

They may focus on details or fragment information

based on their interests.

Our Challenge: Incorporate interest area whenever

possible.

Literal Thinking

Readers with autism can be highly literal thinkers.

This may affect reading comprehension in the following

ways:

Prefer non-fiction over fiction material

May focus on details and miss intentions and

implied information

Abstract concepts related to interactions will

be missed or misunderstood

Abstract Concepts

Difficulties recognizing simple relationships

between people and events

Misleading conclusions from what they read

Focus on unimportant details

Have difficulty understanding deception, sarcasm,

and irony.

Notes

Lack the development of imagination.

Communication Problems in Autism

Responses to questions may be delayed due to slow

response time

Choral reading may be difficult to due pacing

Difficulty initiating responses verbal responses

Understanding word meaning and usage

Particularly multiple word meanings and

idioms

Vocabulary: Language Competence and

Comprehension

Language is the basis for literacy

The text we read is oral language in visual form

Most vocabulary is learned indirectly

Children engage daily in oral language

through conversations with others (especially

adults)

The more oral language experiences children

have, the more word meanings they learn

Children learn vocabulary as they listen to adults read to

them.

Conversations about books help them learn

new words and concepts.

They relate these new words to prior

knowledge and experience.

Children learn vocabulary by reading extensively on their

own

Notes

They are exposed to new vocabulary and learn new word

meanings.

There are basically 4 types of Vocabulary

Listening vocabulary: words we know that we hear

Speaking vocabulary: words we know when we

speak

Reading vocabulary: words we need to know to

understand what we read

Writing vocabulary: words we use in writing

Direct teaching

Many readers require some direct teaching of vocabulary

Particularly for “new” or difficult words

Children with ASD often need extensive direct

instruction in specific word meanings, word-

learning strategies, and figures of speech.

Children learn to combine what they know about

speaking and listening with what they know

about print, and become ready to learn to read.

What’s UP?

“UP”: A word that is easy to understand, right?

Does it mean?

Toward the sky?

At the top of the list?

There are actually more than 30 definitions for the

word “UP”

Notes

Idioms, Multiple meaning words, and figures of

speech

Some “early reader” books explain idioms and

make them fun!

They also provide an excellent “teaching

moments”.

Let’s look at a few examples:

o Amelia Bedelia

“Change the towels in the green

bathroom….”

“Dust the furniture…..”

More examples of teaching idioms, multiple meaning

words, and Figures of Speech

Mr. Granite is From Another Planet!

“….I’m all ears, Mr. Klutz said. You are

not, I told him. You have eyes, a nose, and

a mouth, too. It would be weird to be all

ears. It’s just an expression, said Andrea,

rolling her eyes. It means Mr. Klutz is

listening.”

“Mr. Granite is going overboard with this

green stuff”, said Ryan. He’s falling out of

a boat? I asked. No, dumb head, I mean

he’s getting carried away. I don’t see

anyone carrying him away, I pointed

out……”

“Finally, Mr. Granite turned into a driveway.

Well, I don’t mean he became a driveway.

That would be weird. He just rode his bike

up into a driveway next to a house…”

Notes

Joint Attention

The process of sharing one’s experience of

observing an object or event, by following gaze or

pointing gestures.

Attention is a prerequisite for learning.

The reader with autism may not pay attention to a

shared object such as a book or point to pictures or

words.

It is critical for social development, language

acquisition, cognitive development, and reading

comprehension.

Social Skills

Individuals with autism may have social skill

deficits.

Skill deficits may include, but are not limited to:

limited play skills, establishing and maintaining

friendships, shared enjoyment, limited opportunities

for social interactions………

Social Skills

Readers must identify with the characters’ social

experiences and they contribute to the story.

Readers need to be aware of the emotions of the

characters and how they play a part in the

development of the story.

Theory of Mind

“Knowing what others’ know”

Recognizing that others can have different

information and views from one’s own

Being able to accurately guess the thoughts,

beliefs, emotional state and intentions of

others

The inability to understand a character’s thoughts,

feelings, and behaviors and motivation, as well as

interactions between characters may adversely affect

understanding and comprehension.

Notes

Executive Functioning Issues

Readers with autism:

May have difficulty or inability to plan and sequence

activities/assignment tasks.

Difficulty organizing thoughts and materials.

Difficulty multi-tasking

Difficulty adapting to new situations with flexibility.

So they may have difficulty adapting to flexibility and

changes in the text,

Guiding Questions for Before, During, and After

Reading Activities

What should we ask ourselves first?

What are the important concepts that the student

must understand to comprehend the story?

Knowledge of topics

What are the key vocabulary words? Clarifying

multiple meanings of words

New words being introduced

Language considerations idioms, similes, metaphors

What is the background knowledge base from which

the students will draw? Life experiences, other text,

world knowledge

Based on your knowledge of the student, what

relevant experiences does the student bring to

support understand the story?

Notes

Direct instruction

A structured approach that provides systematic and

detailed directions.

Includes teacher modeling, unison reading, with

systematic review and practice.

Increases the time students are engaged in learning,

Incorporates reading and comprehension in both

whole group and individual instruction.

Also Includes:

o Teaching specific words before reading

o Teaching specific words over extended

periods of time

o Teaching specific words “actively”

o Working with the new vocabulary in many

different way

o Repeated exposure to vocabulary in different

contexts

Activating background knowledge

Teaching background knowledge (about a topic or

concept) better prepares them to learn.

The more they know about a topic, the easier it is to

connect their background knowledge and improve

comprehension.

Activating Background Knowledge

Define a purpose for the reading assignment

Make initial predictions about the text

Brainstorm ideas and associations and write them

on chart paper

Ask the students to share past experiences

Picture walks through a story.

Story retelling with visual aids

Notes

Primer passages as a Pre-reading Strategy

Provide a clear title for a passage that does not have a title

or is unclear.

EXAMPLE: Mr. Granite is From Another

Planet

2. Prepare a primer passage that contains all of the main

ideas of the passage to be read.

Wahlberg and Magliano (2004).

3. After reading a primer passage, ask readers to notice

the title again, and make a link between the title of the

selection to be read and the primer passage. This

connection serves as an anchor to help the reader with

autism focus on relevant information.

4. After reading, discuss with the reader how the primer

passage, the title and the passage itself all relate to one

another.

Wahlberg and Magliano (2004).

Think-Alouds

As the teacher reads a passage to the entire class, he/she:

o Discusses words that may confuse an adult.

o Models his/her comprehension and thinking

strategies:

Including: making inferences, asking

questions, making connections to

personal background knowledge, and

predicting what might come next.

Talks about ideas that confused, things

they wondered about

Notes

Students are encouraged to practice talking about their own

thinking.

This strategy may help to develop

metacognition, which is basically “thinking

about thinking”.

(National Institute for Literacy, 2012)

The Synonym Strategy

Type a selected text (paragraph or passage) into a

Word document.

Ask the student to pre-read the text and use the

computer to highlight any words he or she does not

know.

Have the student read the text with the substituted,

familiar words in place of the unfamiliar words. See if

the selected substitute words make sense.

Check for understanding of the passage with the

synonyms in place.

This strategy is effective for learning new vocabulary.

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers provide a visual representation of the

story sequence and content

Story Retell

Readers with autism may simply restate the facts of

the text without an understanding of the story itself.

Notes

Readers with autism may be uncomfortable with

the direct question/answer interactions.

Story Retelling Strategies

Start with a familiar story

Provide a template or graphic organizer

Allow reader to doodle or draw during retell

Provide pictures/photographs to facilitate the retell

Allow reader to write or type the retell

Visual check list

Checklist for Reading Assignment:

When reading, think about

Who ___________

Where _________

When __________

What happened?

First ___________

Next ___________

Then ___________

Ending _____________

Asking Questions

Give the reader with autism sufficient time to

respond

Speak the questions along with presenting them in

written form.

The reader with autism may say, write or circle the

answer.

Notes

WHO-did-what?

Using basic nouns and action words, combine into

complete and simple sentences.

Sequences events to show how events and

characters interact.

Should help understanding of goals, actions, and

conclusions.

Reciprocal questioning

A strategy that teaches students to ask question of a

partner and of the text.

Students read from familiar story books in pairs,

using visual supports and checklists of strategies to

follow.

The teacher models how to ask questions as they

read.

This strategy also promotes social interactions, as

students with ASD are more likely to respond to

texts after seeing and hearing peers respond.

(Whalon & Hanline, 2008)

Strategies for Older Students

Demonstrating reading comprehension mastery

may be difficult to evaluate using typical question

or paper tests

What about these ideas?

o Do a multi-media presentation on the subject

o Create a comic strip about the main

character, including flashbacks.

o Create a poster advertising the story or

location

o Do a brochure about the location or topic

Notes

Create a map of the location as main characters

travel through the story.

Create a timeline for the story

Retell the story in your own words

Research an idea presented in the story or by the

main character

Do a short play about the story

Create a public service announcement about the

characters or story content.

Create a reward plaque for a character

Make a list of clues about the story and ask others

to solve the “mystery”.

A Look at Specific Examples………

How might these books, passages, and worksheets be

interpreted by our children on the spectrum?

What might our children on the spectrum find difficult?

“Early successes in battle gave the confederacy reasons to

be confident.”-

The south won some battles so they were feeling good.”

“More Confederates arrived and soon the tide turned in

their favor.” –

“More soldiers came and things looked better for them.

They were winning.”

A short story with the retell being sequence story events.

A Group Activity

Look and listen for any red flags.

Notes

The TALE of TWO TEACHERS: A True Story

Some applications in REAL LIFE.

General education-Fourth Grade

Uses the basal reading series

Daily, whole class read alouds

Skills linked to specific literature books

Three days per book

No testing

Teaches above and beyond the basal to reinforce

skills

Self-Contained Intermediate Class

A sample week:

o Monday: read the story aloud to the students.

Reread the story together (choral or turn

taking)

Talk about “wh”: who, what, where,

how, why

Related activities are set up in the

reading centers for the week

Homework: read the story at home

o Tuesday: review the story

Introduce vocabulary words. Look up

each word, complete word and picture

activities.

Possible addition to spelling word lists

o Wednesday: Review the story.

Complete a story map, looking for the

main idea and characters.

Complete a timeline if possible.

o Thursday: Vocabulary and story review

Review vocabulary from the story and

retell the story in your one words.

Write one sentence about your favorite

part of the story or detail from the

Notes

story (activities are chosen to show

understanding of 2 details or main idea)

o Friday: Review the story.

“Fun” activity related to the story

(graphic organizer, hands on activities,

movement or game activities, etc.)

The students demonstrate how they

relate to the character or characters in the

story.

Notes

Resources

Carsondellosa.com

Carson-Dellosa Publishing, LLC, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is a

leading supplemental curriculum solutions provider for both educators and parents.

Founded by two teachers, the company boasts a 35-year history of enhancing a

child's learning potential and environment through quality curriculum,

supplemental learning materials, and classroom resources.

Evan Moor Materials

High-interest topics.

Short, 4-page, brochure-style card stock format provides reluctant readers with a

non-threatening format that's less overwhelming than a textbook or a paperback.

Step-by-step lesson.

Before-, during-, and after-reading strategies

Focus reading strategies, such as drawing conclusions and identifying cause and

effect, guide students through the different ways of understanding and accessing

different types of text.

Reproducible student pages

Audio CD:

Thinkfinity.org

WV Department of Education

Education.com

Each book listed in the catalogs gives, suggested grade and interest levels, a

synopsis, a sample of the skills the book can be used to address, and

methods for developing a wide range of language learning.

Carnahan, C., (2010). Quality Literacy Instruction for Students with Autism

Spectrum Disorders. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: AAPC Publishing

Gately, S., Facilitating Reading comprehension for students on the autism

Spectrum. Teaching Exceptional Children, Jan/Feb 2008.

Iland, E., (2011)., Drawing a Blank: improving Comprehension for Readers on the

Autism Spectrum. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: AAPC Publishing

Kluth P., (2008). A Land We Can Share. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes

Publishing.

Kluth, P., (2003). You’re Going to Love This Kid.

Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing.

Schoenbart, Adam J. “Reading Comprehension Strategies for Children with

Autism Spectrum Disorders”, Teachers College, Columbia University (ASHA

Literacy Gateway)

Quill, K., (2000). Do Watch Listen say. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes

Publishing.

Vickers, B., (2008). Recognizing Different Types of Readers with ASD. The

Reporter, 14(1), 6-9. Indiana Research Center for Autism (IRCA).

National Institute for Literacy, Partnership for Reading, Put Reading First:

Kindergarten Through Grade 3. edpubs@inet.gov.

Gutman, Dan: Mr. Granite is from Another Planet

HarperCollins Publishers, 2008

Parish, Peggy: Amelia Bedelia, HarperCollins Publishers, 1963

AND: OUR FRIENDS AT DUNBAR INTERMEDIATE AND Marlinton

Elementary SCHOOLS