Expert: James Michael Roan - 9/5/2006

Question
I am a Resource Specialist and have worked with an autistic 1st
grader ths last year. In one year he was able to go from sound
letter correspondance to a reader with comprehension at the
second month of grade 1. He has an excellent memory for high
frequency words and though he has the skills to decode
phonetically he prefers to skip these words unless he is held
accountable by reading outloud to someone. His math appears
to be at grade level and typically I only need to help him
understand new formats or new math vocabulary. My question
is, he is weak with reading comprehension. I have front loaded
much of the language prior to him receiving the language arts
curriculum in the regular classroom but this does not increase
his comprehension for outside reading expectations or help in
reading test situations. I go over each short book he reads and
untangle as much of the language I can for him. Each new book
tackles a subject he is not familiar with. I try to keep him on
topics he has familiarity with, but this is not always possible. Is
there a more efficient way to teach language to a high
functioning auststic? His parent is requesting I continue to work
with him for two hours a day. That seemed necessary when I was
also assisting with math, but now his math skills need limited
intervention. What language experience can you recommend for
this smart beginning second grader to help with his reading?
Any computer programs? Also any suggestions for teaching
writing. Is there a good writing program out there for high
functiong autistics? Thank you for any recommendations or
insights.

PS: His Speech and Language Specialist works on pragmatics.

Colleen

Answer
Hello Colleen;

As you know, reading comprehension and receptive language difficulties are the hallmark of children with high functioning autism (HFA). Delays in social thinking as well as executive functioning (i.e., attention, planning, organizing, and sequencing)interfere with reading comprehension, which requires at least average skills in all of those areas. Providing an organizational structure for organizing what he reads will help. As you know, children HFA learn to read quite well as they get older, however, they always prefer factual texts that require limited flexibility in thinking or meaning-making since these little guys struggle with the "situationality" of meaning and value, preferring logical and concrete values.

I don't know of any good programs that will help with these issues. I think the best you can do is to stick with fewer texts/stories and have your student work at multiple interpretations and evaluations of the same story. You alter circumstances one at a time in a "what if" scenario, and he develops critical/analytical thinking skills.

I hope this helps. Keep in mind that you are most likely to be successful in developing existing skills rather than creating skills that are not there.

Kind Regards,
James