Examining the Effects of a Comprehensive Reading Intervention for Adolescents with ASD

Background:  

The Center on Secondary Education for Students with ASD (CSESA) is conducting a line of research to develop and evaluate a comprehensive school-based intervention program. One of the intervention components being developed and evaluated targets improving academic achievement by increasing comprehension through the use of peer-mediated strategies. Reading comprehension is important to academic success and quality of life (Carnahan & Williamson, 2010), however previous reading intervention studies with students with ASD have focused on decoding and sight word recognition (Chiang & Lin, 2007; Whalon & Hanline, 2008). Many students with ASD have unique profiles of reading performance exhibiting strengths in basic reading skills coupled with difficulties in reading comprehension (Asberg, Kopp, Berg-Kelly, & Gillberg, 2010; Chiang & Lin, 2007; Nation, Clarke, Wright, & Williams, 2006). Despite the deficits n reading comprehension for many in this population, previous interventions have targeted challenging behavior and communication skills while neglecting academic achievement.

Objectives:  

We conducted a pilot study with three participants to investigate the reading, behavioral, and social outcomes of implementing an evidence-based reading comprehension intervention adapted for high school students with ASD.

Methods:  

A delayed multiple baseline design was employed across three students across all phases (baseline, intervention, and maintenance). Data was collected on the following dependent variables: (1) task completion, (2) accuracy of responding, (3) social interactions, and (4) challenging behaviors. Students with ASD worked with a peer-pair to learn and apply the comprehension reading intervention strategies with text provided by the researchers. Researchers implemented 30-minute sessions twice a week. The targeted student also received a strategies tutorial session and review once a week. Fidelity observations and debrief meetings were conducted daily. Data for the dependent measures was analyzed in terms of visual analysis and percentage of non-overlapping data.  PND scores were interpreted based on the following set of criteria: (a) more than 90% of PND = very effective treatment, (b) 70% to 90% of PND = effective treatment, (c) 50% to 70% of PND = questionable treatment, and (d) less than 50% of PND = ineffective (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1998).  Trend and variability of data were also analyzed, which is considered a best practice for evaluating results of studies that employ single subject design (Horner, Carre, Halle, McGee, Odom, & Wolery, 2005).

Results:  

 Overall, comprehension outcomes and instances of positive social interaction increased, while challenging behaviors decreased for targeted students with ASD.

Conclusions:  

This poster describes an evidence-based intervention that has demonstrated potential for effectiveness in improving reading comprehension skills, critical for academic success, while also enhancing social skills and reducing challenging behaviors. Whether in the special education or inclusive setting, secondary students with ASD and those that provide them with instruction could benefit from an intervention that meets the unique learning challenges associated with ASD.