Reading Comprehension and Autism in the Primary General Education Classroom

While we understand that contemporary primary classrooms discourage front-loading (e.g., picture walks) within current reading instruction, if a child with ASD is not accessing the curriculum, it may be necessary for the general education teacher to accommodate the learner by embedding front-loading steps without disrupting the curriculum for the other learners (Vinton, 2012). As former first-grade, primary general education, and special education teachers, we found the following evidence-based steps effective in helping students with ASD improve their ability to comprehend reading texts. Table 1 provides an overview of all strategies or steps with examples.

Table 1. Steps for Teaching Reading Comprehension for Students With Autism

Note: Adapted from First grade teachers’ perceptions of the five strands of effective reading instruction and their possible influence on daily instructional practices by Nguyen (2013, p. 203). Copyright 2013 by Neal Nghia Nguyen.

Step 1: Access and Build Background Knowledge

From a WCC perspective, students with ASD may have difficulty accessing and building background knowledge. Of the effective evidence-based strategies reported within the literature, none identify ways for students with ASD to make meaning from the text without accessing or building upon background knowledge. Two strategies that can be used to access and build upon background knowledge for students with ASD are priming with visual supports (Hume, 2013) and preteaching vocabulary (Gately, 2008; Koppenhaver, 2010). For instance, before reading an informational text about birds in a first-grade classroom, we would prime the students with ASD by first placing two pictures from the text on separate index cards. Next, we would present each picture card to the student and say, “Look at this picture. This is a nest. Look at this picture. This is an egg” (Williamson & Carnahan, 2010). Next, we would preteach the key vocabulary from the text (Koppenhaver, 2010) using picture-to-text matching (PTM; Fossett & Mirenda, 2006). With this strategy, we would write or print the words of the pictures previously shown to the student on two index cards. Next, we would place one matching picture and word card in front of the student and say, while pointing to the picture of the nest, “Look at this picture. This is a nest.” Then, while pointing to the word card, we would say, “Look at this word. This says nest. Say it with me.” By accessing and building upon students’ background knowledge, we will be helping them overcome their existing WCC deficits by enabling them to identify details from the text through pictures and words.

Step 2: Create Mental Images

Students with ASD may also have difficulty creating mental images due to WCC and ToM. Visual supports, such as creating mental images, are crucial for assisting students with ASD to understand both literal and nonliteral constructs (Styslinger, 2012). Continuing our example of a first-grade class from Step 1, we would then engage in a picture walk of the book (Zimmerman & Hutchins, 2003). During the picture walk, as we come to those pictures identified in Step 1, we would ask the student with ASD, “Look. What is this?” This process of recalling background knowledge through a picture walk will assist the students with ASD to create a mental picture that was previously learned. With regard to the effectiveness of this picture walk approach for students with ASD, Gately (2008) suggests, “Focusing students with ASD on pictures satisfies their tendency to learn visually and is more effective than simply talking or reading a summary of the book jacket” (p. 42). In other words, students with ASD engage with and make meaning from the text through visual supports.

Step 3: Make Connections

During the third step, first-grade students with ASD might find it difficult to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections due to their EF deficits (May, Rinehart, Wilding, & Cornish, 2013) and text-to-world connections due to WCC (Happé & Frith, 2006). One evidence-based strategy to improve the ability of students with ASD to make connections with the text is to create graphic organizers (Stringfield, Luscre, & Gast, 2011). If our students with ASD lacked background knowledge on nests and eggs and were not able to create mental images before reading, we would help them make these text-to-self connections using a Venn diagram (see Figure 1). We first would present the graphic organizer to the student and, while pointing to the “Me” section, say, “Look at this. You sleep on a bed.” Next, while pointing to the “Bird” section, we would say, “Look at this. The bird sleeps on a nest.” Then, while pointing to the center of the Venn diagram, we would say, “Look at this. You both sleep on something!” In addition, this process of making connections can be generalized to listening to an audio book in a listening center or viewing a video on any topic being taught. Further, graphic organizers were demonstrated in recent studies as an effective method for increasing comprehension across academic content areas because they help these students to make connections (Knight, Spooner, & Browder, 2013; Schenning, Knight, & Spooner, 2013; Zakas, Browder, Ahlgrim-Delzell, & Heafner, 2013).

Figure 1. Venn Diagram for Linking Text to Self When Reading Informative Text on Birds

Step 4: Engage in Consistent Discussions

EF deficits may affect the ability of students with ASD to engage in consistent discussions with teachers or peers. To date, reciprocal questioning (e.g., the teacher and his or her students take turns to ask one another various questions about a text) might not be often used to teach typical developing first-grade or primary students. However, an adapted guided reciprocal questioning approach has been identified as one effective strategy to engage at-risk readers and students with ASD in discussions (Helfeldt & Henk, 1990; King, 1995; Whalon & Hanline, 2008). During a close reading of the informational text on birds mentioned previously, we would model to the student how to ask and respond to questions about the text (see Figure 2). For example, we would place the Character picture under the Story Element column and the What picture under the Question Word column. Next, we would pose a question while pointing to the pictures on the storyboard, such as, “What does the bird sleep on? A nest.” Then, we would ask the student the same question and wait for a response. Lastly, the student would have the opportunity to ask the teacher the same question that was previously modeled. By using this reciprocal questioning strategy during the first close reading of an informational text, students will, over time, be able to generate and answer questions while reading text. As stated by Harvey and Goudvis (2013), reading comprehension is the process of acquiring and using knowledge. Teachers are to “design instruction that teaches students to become critical, curious, strategic readers” (p. 434). The reciprocal questioning strategy will help students with ASD in first grade begin the process of moving from acquiring the knowledge to using the knowledge. Numerous review findings from the National Reading Panel (2000, 2012) indicate that consistent class discussion, in the form of questions from primary classroom teachers, were a key factor in guiding young readers to make sense of what they read.

Figure 2. Reciprocal Questioning Using a Story Board

Federal and state laws mandate that all students are entitled to receive adequate daily academic reading instruction (Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004; No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). Given the complex nature and characteristics of ASD, it is helpful for teachers struggling with teaching students to comprehend reading texts by using the ready-to-use evidence-based strategies or steps we have described. A first-grade or primary classroom teacher must be aware of the unique cognitive style of students with ASD and effective interventions for this population that can be embedded into quality reading instruction. By providing easy-to-use steps in reading comprehension instruction for teachers to implement on a routine basis, we can give primary students with ASD the opportunity to acquire reading comprehension skills at their highest potential.

Neal Nghia Nguyen is an assistant professor of early childhood/special education, early literacy in the Department of Elementary, Early and Special Education at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA; e-mail [email protected].

Patrick Leytham is an assistant professor of special education in the Department of Teacher Education at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, USA; e-mail [email protected].

Peggy Schaefer Whitby is an associate professor of special education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA; e-mail [email protected].

Jeffrey I. Gelfer is a full professor of special education in the Department of Educational and Clinical Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA; e-mail [email protected].