J.C. Hughes

An Individualised Curriculum to Teach Numeracy Skills to Children with Autism: Programme Description and Pilot Data.

Teaching mathematics to children with autism is an area with limited research evidence. In this study we developed a teaching manual based on Maths Recovery, a numeracy programme designed for typically developing children. Six children with autism participated in the study and received daily numeracy teaching over a 20-week period. Our aims were to explore whether Maths Recovery can be used as a numeracy curriculum for children with autism and to evaluate the progress the children make after a period of intensive teaching. Using a pre-test post-test design we found that the adapted Maths Recovery numeracy curriculum was successfully incorporated within each childs individualised teaching programme, and that all six children improved their mathematical ability over the course of the intervention. Our data show promising results and support the rationale for larger evaluation studies.

Teaching Early Reading Skills to Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Using Computer-Delivered Instruction: A Pilot Study

Abstract Many children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have considerable difficulty learning basic reading skills. Increasing evidence suggests individuals with IDD may benefit from instruction incorporating components of reading found to be effective for typically developing children. However, little research into reading instruction for children with IDD has incorporated these components. There is evidence for the efficacy of Headsprout® Early Reading program for typically developing children, and emerging evidence suggesting that children with autism can benefit from the program. The current study investigated the accessibility of Headsprout® Early Reading for children with IDD, and whether there were any measurable effects of the program on important early reading and language skills. Six children aged between 7 and 14 years with mild to moderate IDD completed the program, and all made measurable improvements across reading measures, demonstrating children with mild to moderate ...