Kelly Whalon

Evidence-Based Reading Instruction for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Legislation mandates that all children, including children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), be taught to read in ways that are consistent with reading research and target the five components of evidence-based reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies. This review synthesized the literature on reading instruction for children with ASD that encompassed one or more of the five components of reading. The review included 11 studies with 61 participants ages 4 to 17 years. Results indicated that children with ASD can benefit from reading instruction consistent with reading research. Research in this area is still preliminary, and more research is needed to guide practice. Possible directions for future research are provided.

The Association Between Therapeutic Horseback Riding and the Social Communication and Sensory Reactions of Children with Autism

This study investigated the association between therapeutic riding (TR) and the social communication and sensory processing skills of 21 elementary students with autism attending TR as part of a school group. An interrupted treatment design was employed to determine whether children were able to maintain treatment effects following the removal of TR. Teacher ratings indicated that participating children with autism significantly increased their social interaction, improved their sensory processing, and decreased the severity of symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorders following TR. Gains were not maintained consistently after two 6-week breaks from TR, but were recovered once TR was reinstated. Potential explanations regarding the benefits of TR are discussed, and suggestions for future research provided.

Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Literacy Instruction: An Exploratory Study of Elementary Inclusive Settings

Little is known about how children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience reading instruction in the context of a natural learning environment. This qualitative study centered on three students with ASD who received reading instruction primarily in the general education classroom setting. Observation, interview, and archival data were collected and analyzed to learn how students with ASD engaged in reading instruction and responded to teacher strategies employed to facilitate learning. Findings describe the strengths shown and challenges experienced by children with ASD during literacy instruction. Limited exposure to systematic comprehension instruction hindered the literacy acquisition of learners ASD. Implications for general and special educators are described.

Creating Social Opportunities for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Settings

Increasing numbers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are being included in general education settings. Learners with ASD can benefit from the general education curriculum, with some achieving at a high academic level. Yet, social communication and behavioral difficulties can present challenges to their successful inclusion. Instructional priorities for children with ASD include social communication interventions that teach children how to spontaneously initiate functional communication in academic and social contexts. This article describes evidence-based strategies that will help educators create opportunities for social interaction for students with ASD in the context of naturally occurring classroom activities and routines.

Promote Academic Engagement and Communication of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Settings

116 This article describes 20 strategies to facilitate the participation and learning of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in inclusive settings. Note that although the majority of strategies and accommodations suggested are communication-building techniques geared specifically toward students with ASD, they also reflect sound principles of good teaching and therefore serve to benefit most learners in an inclusive classroom.

Home Literacy Environments of Young Children With Down Syndrome Findings From a Web-Based Survey

Early home literacy experiences, including parent—child book reading, account for a significant amount of childrens later reading achievement. Yet there is a very limited research base about the home literacy environments and experiences of children with cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this study is to describe findings from a Web-based survey of home literacy environments of young children with Down syndrome. Respondents (n = 107) were mostly mothers; a majority were well educated. Findings suggest that respondents gave literacy a higher priority than reported in prior research on children with disabilities. More than 70% of respondents had 50 or more childrens books and also had literacy materials including flash cards, magnetic letters, and educational videos or computer games. Most parents read to their children and used these literacy materials 10 to 30 min per day. Respondents reported that their children had reached many important early literacy milestones, and they also described having relatively ambitious lifelong literacy goals for their children. Important implications for research and practice are discussed.

Measuring Teacher Implementation of the BEST in CLASS Intervention Program and Corollary Child Outcomes

This study is part of a larger randomized efficacy trial examining the impact of Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Training: Competent Learners Achieving School Success (BEST in CLASS), a Tier 2 intervention that targets the prevention of emotional/behavioral disorders in young, high risk children. In this investigation, we examined teachers’ implementation and maintenance of instructional practices in early childhood classrooms and the corollary relationships between teacher implementation of the specific instructional practices associated with BEST in CLASS and child engagement and problem behaviors. Fifty-three teachers (26 in treatment and 27 in comparison) and 130 preschool-aged children (66 in treatment and 64 in comparison) participated. Findings indicated that teachers’ who received training and coaching in the BEST in CLASS intervention increased their use of specific instructional practices in comparison with teachers in the control condition. In addition, children whose teachers’ received the BEST in CLASS intervention demonstrated increased engagement and a decrease in problem behaviors in comparison with those children who were in the control group. Positive teacher–child interactions increased and negative teacher–child interactions decreased in the intervention group in comparison with the control group. Results are discussed in relation to measuring teachers’ implementation of instructional practices and implementation science.

The Impact of Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Learning (RECALL).

A multiple baseline across participants design was used to investigate the impact of RECALL (Reading to Engage Children With Autism in Language and Learning) on the correct, unprompted responding and initiations of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). RECALL is an adapted shared reading intervention based on dialogic reading. RECALL embeds systematic instructional procedures and supports known to facilitate the learning of children with ASD (e.g., prompting hierarchy and visual supports). Interventionists read aloud with a child with autism and a peer 3 days a week for approximately 2.5 months. Following intervention, all four participating children decreased the frequency of incorrect responding and gradually improved their correct, spontaneous responding to fact- and inference-based questions about story content. In addition, three of the four participants increased the frequency of their initiations. Findings suggest that young children with ASD can participate in and benefit from shared reading interventions with supports. Implications for the implementation of shared reading interventions with young children with ASD are discussed.

Adapting an Evidence-Based Reading Comprehension Strategy for Learners With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Reading is a critical skill for student success in school and postschool opportunities. Although a number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will develop the decoding skills necessary to read text, many will continue to struggle with reading comprehension. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) mandated that all children receive evidence-based reading instruction consistent with the National Reading Panel (NRP) recommendations. Beginning evidence suggests that children with ASD can benefit from instruction consistent with the NRP recommendations. This article illustrates how to implement question-and-answer relationships (QAR), a specific NRP-advocated strategy, using research-based instructional supports found responsive in meeting the learning needs of students with ASD.

Using Interactive Storybook Reading to Increase Language and Literacy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

A strong relationship between early language skills and reading abilities has been established (see Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998, for review). However, for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the reliance on language development to facilitate reading skills is problematic, as children with ASD typically experience difficulty in acquiring the linguistic skills needed for reading (Myles et al., 2002; Norbury & Bishop, 2002). Evidence suggests that we can comprehend text only to the degree we comprehend language (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2000). Because of the language profile associated with ASD, children with ASD are at particular risk for reading comprehension difficulties; thus, early instruction targeting oral language comprehension is an important instructional focus.