Reading Comprehension Strategies - ed

1 TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 88 97. Copyright 2019 The Author(s). DOI: Reading Comprehension Strategies Reading Comprehension Strategies for High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder Christopher Brum, , San Diego State University, Laura J. Hall, , San Diego State University Colleen Reutebuch, , University of Texas, Austin Yolanda Perkins, , Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, 88 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Mr. Wilkins is a special education teacher in wh- questions (Bethune & Wood, 2013; with ASD and embed EBPs that are a large suburban school district.)

2 His class Koegel & Koegel, 1995); (d) a focus on effective for use with individuals with consists of eight students in Grades 9 through 12 detail instead of the theme of text (Fleury ASD (Wong et al., 2015). Both with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and et al., 2014); and (e) challenges with interventions are research based with moderate cognitive disabilities. All the students understanding meaning when pronouns published studies demonstrating have Reading Comprehension goals in their are used (Tager-Flusberg, Edelson, & effectiveness (Boardman, Klingner, individualized education programs (IEPs), but Luyster, 2011).

3 These issues may persist Buckley, Annamma, & Lasser, 2015;. Mr. Wilkins struggles to determine what throughout secondary school; however, Browder, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Flowers, &. method to use to help the students increase their once students enter high school, an Baker, 2012; Browder, Trela, & Jimenez, Reading Comprehension skills. The decoding and emphasis on foundational literacy skills, 2007; Reutebuch, El Zein, Kim, Weinberg, Reading Comprehension levels of his students including Reading for understanding, is & Vaughn, 2015). range from kindergarten to third grade , and often replaced with a focus on college and AAL and CSR-HS approaches have the students also struggle with listening career readiness (Morningstar, Bassett, resulted in gains in students' Reading Comprehension .

4 As the students are Reading well Kochhar-Bryant, Cashman, & Wehmeyer, Comprehension . Specifically, when three below grade level, Mr. Wilkins often uses 2012). teachers used a checklist to adapt literacy elementary-level Reading materials, however, he Maintaining a focus on Reading materials using the Strategies of AAL, all knows that the materials are not age Comprehension is essential for students six of their students increased the number appropriate and do not match the interest levels with ASD, as some will still need to of independent, or unprompted, correct of adolescents.

5 Mr. Wilkins wants to adopt develop this skill during their high school responses to Reading Comprehension evidence-based practices (EBPs) for developing years. Two evidence-based approaches for questions (Browder et al., 2007). When his students' Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension for high school compared to elementary school students vocabulary acquisition that include age- students with ASD are Alternate with severe developmental disabilities appropriate and highly motivating materials. Achievement Literacy (AAL) and exposed to a site word approach, students Ms.

6 Henderson is a special education teacher Collaborative Strategic Reading : High participating in a multicomponent early in a small urban high school. She co-teaches in School (CSR-HS). AAL provides literacy program with the same Strategies an inclusive english language arts (ELA) adaptations and modifications to support as AAL had significantly higher mean classroom and teaches several ELA resource access and Comprehension of literacy scores on standardized measures of classes for students in Grades 9 through 11 with chronologically age-appropriate text for vocabulary, nonverbal literacy, and early ASD.

7 Most of the students that she serves can students with ASD (Browder, Thompson, Reading skills (Browder et al., 2012). In decode at or above grade level but have & Fallin, 2014). Targeted for students comparison to business as usual in a difficulty demonstrating an understanding of learning to read, the focus of AAL is for randomized controlled trial study, middle what they have read. They struggle with citing students to develop an understanding of school students participating in the full textual evidence to support their answers and text, rather than simply decoding CSR program in science and social studies with answering implicit questions that require functional sight words found in daily life.

8 Classes scored higher on a standardized them to infer the author's intention or feelings CSR-HS combines Strategies of strategy Reading Comprehension assessment of a character. To help improve their instruction and corporative learning to (Boardman et al., 2015). Also, in a pilot understanding of the assigned text, the students improve Reading Comprehension study of CSR for high school students, are given some time during class to turn and throughout the Reading process for there were increases in accuracy with talk about the Reading . However, with little individuals with ASD (Meadows Center Reading Comprehension from multiple- structure provided, the students usually just for Preventing Educational Risk choice responses for two of the three restate information from the text and [MCPER], 2013).

9 Students Reading to participants with ASD, along with sometimes get off task. Ms. Henderson is learn use CSR-HS to work together to increases in social responding and seeking an EBP that will help her students learn use evidence-based Strategies to improve decreasing in challenging behavior during Reading Comprehension Strategies that can be their ability to read text for understanding. CSR sessions for all students (Reutebuch, applied across all of their content area classes. This intervention is adapted from El Zein Kim, et al., 2015). traditional CSR to be used with high The CSESA implementation team noted Reading Comprehension is important.

10 School students with ASD. that in many schools, teachers often Many students with ASD have difficulty Both AAL and CSR-HS were included struggled to provide Reading with Reading Comprehension that persists as part of the Center on Secondary Comprehension instruction at the secondary as they enter high school. Conversely, Education for Students With Autism level. Following at least one semester of high schools often fail to provide explicit Spectrum Disorder (CSESA), a coaching in both AAL and CSR, students November/December 2019. instruction on Reading Comprehension .