Reading with autism
IN recent years, there has been growing national awareness that literacy is a civil right. Therefore, children with autism have the right to scientifically based reading instruction and should not leave school without at least some basic reading skills.
Learning to read is defined as the ability to process words in text based on each writer’s intended meaning. With this definition in mind, it is possible to teach children with autism to become literate.
These children are thought to have difficulties dealing with people. There is a relationship between reading comprehension and people comprehension. It is through teaching them to comprehend words that they may work towards understanding people.
In terms of reading development, children with autism and typically developing children share similar decoding skills. Decoding involves translating printed words into speech by combining letters and recognising the patterns that make syllables and words.
The challenge of reading among children with autism lies in the less concrete aspects of reading, which are learning by listening, written expression, graphomotor (muscular movements in writing) skills and comprehension.
The optimum strategy to teach them is visual learning. The sight-word instruction or whole-word learning method involves a multisensory (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic) approach and other areas such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and comprehension.
Cloze tasks are another reading strategy that encourages self-monitoring when children read a passage in search of suitable words to fill in the blanks.
Motivation based on children’s interests is necessary for reading to be successful. In teaching reading, choose interesting and meaningful words such as favourite food and television characters.
The use of visual supports and cues such as flowcharts and graphic organisers can also enhance textual comprehension and focus. They can improve children’s word recognition ability and increase independence, social communication and prosocial behaviour.
It is shown that anaphoric cueing is important in reading comprehension intervention. In anaphoric cueing, children with autism are taught that texts contain shorter words that represent longer words.
The ability to read is an important skill for all children to succeed in school and other aspects of their daily life.
Teaching children with autism is extremely challenging because of their range of cognitive, social and behavioural differences. However, children with autism can make gains in reading skills if consistent intervention is provided.
It is crucial that all children with autism have access to a comprehensive reading programme that suits their needs.
For more information, call KPJ KL Rehabilitation Centre at 03-4021 0464, WhatsApp to 017-614 3166 (mention PSYCHOLOGY) or visit www.kpjthc.com