Improving Reading Comprehension in Students with Autism: Associating Cognitive Impairments with Reading Comprehension Problems

Abstract

This research postulated that the cognitive impairments characteristic of students with high-functioning autism can be associated with specific types of reading comprehension difficulties. Descriptive data was collected from two case studies of adolescent students who were diagnosed with high-functioning autism. The researcher employed interactive questioning techniques, based on task-analysis theory, to develop hypotheses on the types of cognitive impairments that might be causing the participants in the study to experience reading comprehension difficulties. Based on these hypothesized associations between cognitive impairments and specific incidences of reading comprehension problems, the researcher selected and employed targeted reading comprehension interventions. Descriptive results suggest that incremental improvements in reading comprehension and expressive language occurred for the case-study participants.

Keywords: autism, high-functioning autism, reading comprehension, task analysis