Reading Comprehension Interventions for Children with Autism (Essay Sample)

Reading Comprehension Interventions for Children with Autism Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Instructor’s Name Course Date Reading Comprehension Interventions for Children with Autism Research Summary: Article 1 Henderson-Faranda, N. R., Newbury, J., & Sutherland, D. (2022). Using Computer Assisted Instruction to Improve Reading Comprehension of Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Pilot Study. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 27(1), 135-167. doi: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404158.2021.2021962 The Overall Purpose of the Study Henderson-Faranda et al. (2022) studied the importance and efficiency of educators and authorities in the education sector using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) tools to improve reading and learning understanding in children on the Autism spectrum. The authors conduct a meta-analysis and cross-sectional analysis of whether computer-assisted instruction helps reading comprehension in schools, especially for Autistic students. The study investigates the efficiency of a CAI, Reading EggspressTM, compared to teacher-directed instruction in teaching literacy skills to autistic students in primary schools. The research study reviews several articles and compares CAI and teacher-directed instruction effects in improving reading comprehension in students on the Autism spectrum. The paper investigates the difference in Autistic students' reading comprehension when using Reading EggspressTM in its singleness and pairing this CAI with teacher-directed instructions and a social validity measure. This measure includes using questionnaires provided to both students and their guardians to observe whether there has been an improvement in their Autistic children’s reading comprehension. Therefore, the research study analyzed and weighed between two teaching methods, computer-assisted and teacher-directed instructions, to improve reading comprehension in students on the Autism spectrum. Methodology The research study by Henderson-Faranda et al. (2022) investigated the impact of CAI with and without teacher-directed instruction on the reading comprehension of four children between ages 8 and 11 years, all of whom are on the Autism spectrum. The participants were recruited through a rigorous screening process; six were selected, but two dropped out of the study, and hence, four remained as participants. These four would then participate in the study in two phases, A and B, with two participants being assessed together for each phase. Several measures are used in the study: Standardized assessments, reading comprehension probes, and delivery and questionnaires. The standardized assessments include tests such as the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability to assess reading and language comprehension in the four participants. The study used a five-phase model in its experimental design for observing the effects of intervention on children’s learning. The experimental design included a pilot study which used a multiple phase single case design with redundant measures made the same for each participant. The experimental design phases began with pre-assessment, base-line, the intervention process which includes both phase A and phase B, and ended with post-assessment. This design was made like this so as to ensure that results from the two phases were both unbiased and went through the same process to get to the results. Findings The research questions investigated whether CAI, with or without teacher instruction, will impact students' reading comprehension for learners on the Autism spectrum. The study found that for all the research questions, the main conclusion is that educators can improve reading comprehension for students on the Autism spectrum by implementing both the individual intervention strategy and the Reading EggspressTM. Therefore, both the teacher-directed instructions and the CAI work in helping such students improve their reading understanding. Critical Commentary The research conducted by Henderson-Faranda et al. (2022) emphasized the need for both teacher-directed instruction and Reading EggspressTM CAI in improving reading comprehension among students on the Autism spectrum. This study explains to educators the importance of adopting and using technology such as CAI to ensure students with special needs are included. Sometimes, teacher-directed instructions can be too hard for such students to follow. However, CAI gives detailed and unbiased instructions that can be more understandable to students on the Autism spectrum. More research needs to be conducted on other types of computer-assisted instruction that can improve reading comprehension for students on the Autism spectrum. However, the study faced several limitations. Since the intervention was made as a package, it made it hard for the interventionist to know which part of the intervention facilitated increased reading comprehension for the participants. This limitation is further enhanced by the lack of a focus group. A second limitation during the study was the interruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented the study from being continuous as the interventionist had to take a mandatory break. Additionally, during the break, one of the participants, Fred, underwent a change in medication, which the interventionists think contributed to his improvement in language and reading comprehension during the study. Research Summary: Article 2 Jackson, E. M., & Hanline, M. F. (2020). Using a concept map with RECALL to increase the comprehension of science texts for children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 35(2), 90-100. The Overall Purpose of the Study Jackson & Hanline (2020) observe the effectiveness of using the program RECALL (Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Learning) together with a concept map to enable children with Autistic Spectrum disorder (ASD) to answer science text questions comprehensively. The study examines the importance of using science jargon and texts to teach students with this spectrum disorder how to read and understand their teachings completely. Methodology Two participants, five-year-old boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), were selected; one boy was from a local therapy center, and the other was one of the author's friend's children. The participants were selected based on their characteristics; they had ASD, could interact with others verbally, and had vision and sight to answer the study questions. The intervention posed to the participants included five pre-assessment questions based on the book read out loud to the participants. The study used oral comprehension tests to observe the two participants' comprehension ability by reading visually and orally. The interventionist conducted oral comprehension tests by reading out loud from a science book as he asked questions about each page of the book. He then used the concept map to reinforce his questions and observed whether using this visual feature helped the two participants understand and correctly answer the posed questions. The interventionist included two author-developed infidelity checklists which were for the baseline and the intervention phases. Two coders were trained to use the checklists by watching the two author-made training videos. After which, the coders then each coded three additional training videos, to achieve not only validity and reliability of the findings. Findings The research scrutinized the use of RECALL combined with the use of a concept map as a visual torch for ASD students in comprehending complex science questions. The study observed that the concept map aided the ASD participants in selecting the correct answers for the tough science questions. The concept map was a contributing factor in enabling the participants to not only answer the science questions correctly but also retain the learned knowledge. The study concluded that students with ASD are more likely to comprehend complex studies by using RECALL with concept maps and diagrams, which act as a visual torch, making it easy for them to read and learn. Therefore, learners suffering from ASD can grasp complex subjects such as Science through adapted shared reading and use of concept maps. Critical Commentary The research provides insight into how ASD students can be made to participate more in complex studies such as Science. The study adds to the body of knowledge about students with autism spectrum disorder by explaining to educators how they can improve these students’ reading and learning comprehension. The study adds to available research by showing how technology can be used as concept maps, i.e., educators can use technology such as iPads as visual tools combined with shared reading to enable these types of students to read and learn effectively. One of the biggest limitations of the study is the sample size: The sample size of the study affected the study’s generalizability to other populations of students. The study only used two students with the same level of science subject comprehension instead of a diverse group of ASD students. The research explains that the students answered the questions correctly based on the concept maps; however, further research must be conducted to observe whether ASD students retain the knowledge they obtain during the shared readings because they used concept maps as visual aids. Research Summary: Article 3 Solis, M., El Zein, F., Vaughn, S., McCulley, L. V., & Falcomata, T. S. (2016). Reading comprehension interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: An alternati...